Bruins to start 2025-26 season without captain

Sweeney says that he’s going to let new head coach Maro Sturm get settled in before diving into finding a new captain.

“I think we move forward with the leadership that has been established and let Marco have his own communication with them, and let [the players] have communication with themselves in terms of what direction they want to take this, and who emerges as the leader and next captain of the Boston Bruins.”

It will mark the first time the Bruins will go without a captain for an extended period of time since the 2005-06 season, when Boston didn’t have someone wearing the ‘C’ after trading then-captain Joe Thornton to the San Jose Sharks. The last time the B’s went captain-less for an entire season was 2001-02, the year before Thornton was named captain.

The Bruins lost their captain at last year’s trade deadline, when Sweeney traded Brad Marchand to their Atlantic Division rivals, the Florida Panthers. The move paid off for the latter, as Marchand was an essential piece in helping the Panthers win a second straight Stanley Cup.

Marchand took over the captaincy after former captain Patrice Bergeron retired after the 2022-23 season. Bergeron served as captain for three seasons after Zdeno Chara, who had been captain since 2006, signed with the Washington Capitals prior to the 2021 campaign.

The Bruins are in the midst of a rebuild, despite having talented players like David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman in the fold. The team finished tied for the worst record in the Eastern Conference, with their 33 wins marking the fewest in a full season since the 2005-06 season.