Training camp is here, and the Bruins are already walking themselves into one of those decisions that can grate on a fan base fast.
Boston held a pair of captains’ practices at Warrior Ice Arena last week on Tuesday and Thursday, but the bigger storyline hanging over camp is still unresolved: the Bruins do not have a captain. That has been the case since Brad Marchand was traded to the Florida Panthers at the trade deadline in March of 2025, and despite all the talk since then, the job remains open.
On Tuesday, the Bruins’ social media accounts posted a preseason photo shoot clip showing Charlie McAvoy, David Pastrnak, and Hampus Lindholm arriving. Each of the three was wearing an “A” on his jersey. None of them had a “C.”
Gooood morninnnn 👋 pic.twitter.com/t9Xs8pEW0W
- Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) September 15, 2026
That detail matters, because it sure looked like Boston was signaling another season without a captain. If that’s the direction the Bruins are taking, it is not going to land well with fans. The obvious candidates are McAvoy and Pastrnak, and most people seem to want Pastrnak to get the nod.
There are other NHL teams still without a captain, but two clubs settled their situations on Tuesday: the Chicago Blackhawks named Connor Bedard their captain, and the New York Islanders named Bo Horvat theirs. Pastrnak and McAvoy have both been around Boston longer than either of those players has been with his team, which only makes the Bruins’ hesitation look stranger.
That’s really the heart of it. Not naming a captain feels odd, plain and simple.
Pastrnak and McAvoy are going to keep playing in Boston, and seeing neither one wear the “C” would be unusual. Maybe the photo shoot was just a social media tease.
If the Bruins were about to unveil a captain, you’d think the “C” would have shown up somewhere in that shot.
Maybe there’s a Ray Bourque-style reveal coming, with one of them peeling off the jersey and showing the “C” underneath. But with the way the Bruins handle things, that seems unlikely.
In Other News...
Bruins Camp Opens With One Immediate Offensive Decision To Make
Training camp opens this week with Marco Sturm still sorting out the Bruins roster and line combinations for the season opener against the Rangers, and one of the clearest early decisions centers on how to deploy a player who gives the lineup some much-needed flexibility. Boston brought in JJ Peterka in June, and his arrival adds another variable to the top-six mix as the staff begins mapping out who fits where, and for how long.
Peterkas versatility is part of what makes the choice interesting, since he can be slotted on either wing and could also factor into the power play if the Bruins decide his shot belongs in that mix. It is the kind of early camp puzzle that can shape everything else around it, from even-strength chemistry to special-teams balance, especially with Charlie McAvoy also drawing league-wide attention after being ranked 46th in TSNs top 50 NHL players list ahead of the season. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Camp Opens With A Top Six Decision Hanging Over Everything
The Bruins open camp with a 42-man roster to sort through, but the biggest question is already clear enough: how they want their top six to look when the season starts. Before the club gets down to a 23-man roster for opening night, Boston has to use training camp and preseason games to figure out which combinations make the most sense, and whether the current mix can hold up once the real games begin.
Pavel Zacha sits right in the middle of that conversation, with his contract situation still hanging over the roster picture as the organization weighs short-term fit against longer-term flexibility. Add in Casey Mittelstadt, who is also in the final year of his deal, and the Bruins have a top-six puzzle that touches everything from the salary cap to the development path for younger forwards like James Hagens and Dans Locmelis. The decisions made over the next few weeks could shape not just this fall, but how Boston approaches the future. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Young Core Is Taking Shape Ahead Of Bruins Matchups
The annual prospect challenge in Buffalo offered an early look at where the Sabres are trying to go, even with Boston leaving town having won both games. For the Bruins, it was a useful reminder of how much youth now surrounds this rivalry, but the bigger picture for Buffalo is the roster picture starting to come into focus as training camp inches along.
One of the clearest signs came with Noah Ostlund, who was rewarded with a long-term extension as the Sabres continue investing in their young core. There is still real competition up front and in net, with Zach Benson seen as the favorite to slide into the first-line wing spot vacated by Alex Tuch and Alex Lyon battling Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for the starting job, which should keep Buffalos camp worth tracking from the Bruins side of the ledger too. [Read more 🡒]