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Bruins officially name new team captain |
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Ty Anderson
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Jim Montgomery and the Boston Bruins didn't even need to get on the ice for a single training camp session to figure out who would be their next team captain.
That honor, as confirmed by the Bruins, will go to Brad Marchand, who was officially named and introduced as the 27th captain in franchise history Wednesday morning.
The decision to name Marchand as Boston’s newest captain came after a summer of conversations between Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery, general manager Don Sweeney, and team president Cam Neely.
The trio then informed Marchand of their decision at a recent dinner in the Back Bay.
“Since my time in the organization, I’ve had Ray Bourque as a captain, Zdeno Chara, and Patrice Bergeron [as captains]. The things that those guys have come were not only were they great players, but they worked hard every day in practice, pushed their teams to work hard, and Brad does that,” Neely said. “He’s learned that and had some good mentors for sure, and he’s come a long way in his career. Both on the ice, off the ice and maturity-wise. So he felt he’d be a really good next captain for this organization.”
Marchand's promotion from assistant captain to team captain also represents yet another natural connection to the B's 2011 Stanley Cup-winning team, from Zdeno Chara to Patrice Bergeron and now Marchand.
“It’s an important part of the history of this franchise,” Neely acknowledged. “And Brad being on that [2011] team and how well he played on that [team], in that series to win — especially the Vancouver series — you know, it’s a nice thing to have the luxury of the player that won a Stanley Cup in your lineup.”
“When you look at the leaders that have been here before me and the guys that I’ve been fortunate enough to be under, they’ve taken an incredible amount of pride and [putting] everything that they could possibly be into this team,” Marchand said, referencing Chara and Bergeron. “It’s been incredible to see, but I see the work that goes into it. And I’ve been vocal in the past with, you know, the ages of different captains and stuff like that, and I really believe that I’ve witnessed two of the best leaders of all time."
The decision to put the ‘C’ on Marchand’s sweater will naturally come with some eyebrow-raising from those out of market (or even in-market) given Marchand’s history with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety. But that’s not something that concerns the Bruins all that much.
“He’s realized [you have to] try to find that fine line of being the player that he wants to be and controlling his emotions when he needs to,” Neely said. “He’s a very emotional player, so sometimes that gets you in trouble, as it has in the past for him. But he’s done a nice job the last couple of years, in my opinion, of controlling the situations a little better while still being able to be the competitive player that we all like and respect about Brad’s game.”
Marchand, for what it’s worth, also feels like he’s done his part to get the dirt out of his game. While he’s been prone to the occasional slip-up (the Tristan Jarry incident comes to mind), Marchand himself cites the licking incident with the Lightning’s Ryan Callahan back in 2018 as the turning moment for him as a player, realizing that he was simply too good and too talented a player to be doing stuff like that.
But that also doesn’t mean that Marchand will suddenly stop walking the line.
“It’s something that I’m going to have to continue, and [it’ll be] a work in progress. I definitely don’t expect to step in and be perfect off the hop,” Marchand admitted. “But I do play with a certain type of passion and emotion, and I won’t lose that. That’s just who I am. I’ll need to continue to do that to be a good player in this league. It’s allowed me to be successful and I don’t want to get away from that.”
The Bruins also don’t seem to care about the outside perception of a player with a rap sheet like Marchand’s wearing the C for their team.
“I would say he’s ours and we’re happy we have him,” Montgomery said of how others outside Boston may react to Marchand being the new captain. “That’s what I would say to them. We don’t concern ourselves with their opinions or their thoughts. We love what we have and so do our fans.”
The Bruins have also confirmed that Charlie McAvoy and David Pastrnak will serve as the team's assistant captains for the 2023-24 season.
Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. He has been covering the Bruins since 2010, and has been a member of the Boston chapter of the PHWA since 2013. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, HockeyBuzz.com or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter/X: @_TyAnderson.
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