Marco Sturm shares his ideas on Bruins’ subsequent captain
Boston Bruins
“He’s a completely completely different chief as a Bergeron or Chara. Completely completely different. Which is completely tremendous.”
Bruins president Cam Neely raised a couple of eyebrows final month when he opened the door for Boston to not title a captain at the beginning of the 2026-27 season.
Boston has not had a captain in place for the reason that membership traded Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers on March 7, 2025, with a revamped management group led by David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy holding court docket within the dressing room throughout the 2025-26 marketing campaign.
Bruins head coach Marco Sturm echoed the same sentiment final week when requested in regards to the urgency of sewing a “C” on a sweater earlier than a brand new season of hockey begins.
“We are going to most likely sit down right here shortly,” Sturm instructed Evan Marinofsky on the “Bruins Beat” podcast final week. “Finish of the day, I would love, at one level, I don’t know when, I wish to have a captain. I don’t know if it’s going to occur now or later, no matter it’s, but it surely’s positively one thing; as a coach, you at all times depend on a man like that.”
In relation to candidates, each Pastrnak and McAvoy stand on the forefront of potential Bruins captains. The 2 are the longest-tenured gamers in Boston’s room and two of one of the best at their respective positions.
Pastrnak — identified for his highlight-reel offensive prowess and his affable persona — is likely to be a departure from a few of the different captains who’ve led Boston’s roster in earlier generations of Bruins hockey.
However, Sturm harped on the necessity for gamers — particularly these in management positions — to shift their mindset and adapt to the altering dynamics throughout the sport of hockey.
“One of many issues and points we’ve got right here in Boston is that we had a man like [Patrice] Bergeron, that we had a man like [Zdeno] Chara, and even Ray Bourque, you title it. We had such good, high-quality captains right here,” Sturm instructed Marinofsky. “So everybody thinks mechanically, ‘oh, we’d like a man like him,’ however that’s completely different. These guys are gone. Over the course, we talked in regards to the younger guys. It’s a brand new technology; they’re completely different now.”
Because the Bruins proceed their retool, Boston’s dressing room is anticipated to welcome an inflow of youthful gamers within the coming years in hopes of figuring out future franchise pillars to pair with the likes of Pastrnak and McAvoy.
Pastrnak isn’t precisely a teenager in at the moment’s NHL at 30 years previous. However, it’s not a lot of a shock that James Hagens’ stall at TD Backyard is true subsequent to Boston’s high winger — whereas Pastrnak discovered loads of success driving play subsequent to a pair of youthful forwards in Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov final 12 months.
“Should you have a look at our guys now, I believe David, he’s a completely completely different chief as a Bergeron or Chara. Completely completely different. Which is completely tremendous,” Sturm stated. “I performed with a man like [Alex] Ovechkin. He’s like that. He’s completely completely different. [That] doesn’t imply he’s a nasty chief; he simply does issues otherwise. So we at all times received to do not forget that, it’s a distinct time proper now.”
Be it Pastrnak, McAvoy, or one other participant in Boston’s room, Sturm confused, the Bruins will likely be in good palms with their management core in 2026-27 — no matter whether or not or not one participant is singled out as captain this fall.
“I do imagine we’ve got good leaders in our locker room. For me, personally, as a coach, he wants a powerful voice within the room, clearly, but in addition who helps me out,” Sturm stated. “He needs to be the connection between coaches and in addition for the gamers in loads of completely different areas of the sport; on ice, off ice, you title it. Additionally, who can keep very calm throughout annoying moments.”
“I do imagine [Don Sweeney] set the tone after that unhealthy season they’d. They challenged, a bit bit, that management group. I do imagine they labored on it final summer season, and so they got here again as a unit already, in order that was good to see, after which they took off. I’m truly very pleased with these guys, how they dealt with all season lengthy, and in addition at all times need to reply these questions in regards to the captaincy. They stored every part underneath management all 12 months lengthy.”
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