Things are settling in. Brad Marchand is no longer a Bruin but a Bostonian, as he asserted in a letter earlier, where he conveyed a heartfelt message to his fans. “Thank you for welcoming me into this great city when I was just a young Canadian kid looking to break into the best league in the world. You allowed me to achieve my dream of playing in the National Hockey League and winning the Stanley Cup. For this, I am forever grateful,” he wrote. The transition felt hard, but that’s how things are in the competitive league. On the other hand, the Bruins find themselves without a captain. And that’s certainly a thing of worry…

At present, the Boston Bruins are placed second last in the Atlantic Division. So far, they have played 66 games with 68 points, where they won 30 games, had 28 losses, and 8 overtime losses. Moving on, the interim head coach Joe Sacco has now made it evident that he welcomes these challenges and is now mapping the path for the Stanley Cup. Keeping the zeal all revamped and renewed, Sacco is now maintaining the team’s competitive edge and integrating new pieces into the system. When asked on NESN about the locker room lacking a captain and how that might impact the culture, Sacco says:

“I guess my first thought is, Sophia, that there are a lot of times that teams will go without a captain for, uh, more than a season. I can think about the New York Rangers, you know, when Jacob Trouba took over as a captain they had gone maybe four or five years with that guy, uh, wearing the seat. So it may take some time and that’s okay.”

Just take the example of the Rangers. They had no captain for four consecutive seasons from 2017-2018 when Ryan McDonagh was traded. It was only in the 2022-2023 season when Jacob Trouba was named the captain that they had a formal captain. Even Anaheim Ducks for that matter. They had been without a captain for three consecutive seasons before Radko Gudas was announced as their captain in September 2024. Therefore, teams running for a couple of seasons without a captain are pretty standard in the NHL.

Aye, Aye, Captain! As thrilling as it sounds, it shall not echo as of now amongst the Bruins. As per Sacco, they are in no rush to find another captain after Marchand’s departure, as leadership naturally develops within the team. The 56-year-old said, “I think, a lot of times, whether it’s David Pastrnak or Charlie McAvoy who assumes that mantle, all that stuff has to happen organically. These guys are still young players—in their late 20s—and I believe these things take time. It certainly took time for a guy like Brad Marchand.”

David Pastrnak could be a prime option here, as he has been an alternate captain for the past four seasons. He learned it by watching three pillar players on the team, including Marchand. And the former captain in a statement earlier has vouched for David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy, saying that they both have different leadership styles. He added, “So [I have] complete faith in those guys to carry on that culture and legacy and continue to add to it. Not just carry it, but you got to leave it better than you found it.”

However, even if Pastrnak becomes the captain, he won’t be announced with the title this season, as the GM announced that they won’t name a captain for the rest of the season. But the trade of their former captain is still heavy on the Bruins. Let’s see how that unfolded.

A teary goodbye

You know the loss has cut deep when the words of the franchise’s general manager (Don Sweeney) read something like this: “That one goes back a long way for me and cuts deeper than any player I’ve gotten the privilege to know and watch thrive and become a Hall of Famer and one of the greatest Bruins ever.”

Brad Marchand was traded to the Florida Panthers by the Boston Bruins, where the Bruins received a conditional second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft in return. The conditional second-round pick will become a 2027 or 2028 first-round pick if Florida wins two rounds of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the 36-year-old appears in at least 50 % of the team’s playoff games.

A few days after the trade was finalized, Marchand appeared in his introductory press conference wearing a red pullover with the Florida Panthers’ logo on his chest, he appeared happy and even joked about how the color red “brings out his eyes.” Looks like he has moved on but the franchise whose jersey he donned for 16 years is just starting a tough period without him.

What do you think of Sacco’s vow to continue the Bruins’ culture without Brad Marchand? Let us know in the comments.