With the retirement of both Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci along with the subtractions of Taylor Hall, Tyler Bertuzzi, Nick Foligno and Dmitri Orlov from the Boston Bruins this offseason, it's Brad Marchand who is now the de facto team leader along with David Pastrnak.
Marchand was a rookie on the 2010-11 Stanley Cup squad, and has grown not only into one of Boston's best players, but one of the best pests in the NHL today. And as the longest serving Bruins player, is he about to become just the third Bruins captain since 2006?
“It’s not something I really think about too much," Marchand said. "Obviously it’s a really big honor to be in the leadership group in this organization when you look at the guys who have been there before. But we’ve always done it collectively as a group,” said Marchand after an hour-plus session at Warrior Ice Arena. “So regardless of who wears it, it’s a collective thing. Even guys guys without a letters have stepped up through the years. When you lose Bergy and (David Krejci) and that leadership, it’s got to come from the group, and not one certain guy or a couple of guys. It’s got to be from a big group. So that’s what we’re going to rely on this year.”
“One of the big things he talked about was gratitude and accountability, just treating every day like it’s a gift and being thankful to be here and have the opportunity to play in this organization, this team,” said Marchand. “You hear it so often when guys come from different groups or they leave and go somewhere else, how much they miss being here and how lucky they are to be here now. These careers fly by quickly. You’re going to miss it every day when it’s gone. You never know it’s going to be your last day in the league. It’s just being grateful, and with that comes doing everything in your power to make the most of your opportunity and to not waste a day.”
Bruins fans, would you be comfortable with Marchand donning the captain's "C" for next season and beyond?
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