The Bruins are about to put a “C” back on someone’s sweater.
Speaking Wednesday, GM Don Sweeney said Boston will name a captain before opening night, ending the stretch that began after Brad Marchand was traded to the Panthers ahead of the 2025 deadline. The Bruins have gone without a captain in 2025-26, leaning instead on alternates David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm.
“We are going to announce a captain this year. We'll do that before opening night,” Sweeney said.
He didn’t tip his hand on who it will be, but he did make clear the organization isn’t rushing the decision. Pastrnak, McAvoy and Lindholm all wore the “A” last season, and Sweeney said Boston wants to handle the choice with care.
“We've spent a long time, we understand the legacy of our organization and we want to do it the right way,” Sweeney added.
Boston opens the season on Sept. 29, so the call is coming within the next two weeks. When it does, the Bruins will be naming their seventh captain this century and fourth this decade, following Patrice Bergeron and Marchand after Zdeno Chara’s 14-season run with the “C.”
The franchise has had a long line of captains stretching back to 1925, from Sprague Cleghorn to Lionel Hitchman, George Owen, Dit Clapper, Marty Barry, Nels Stewart, Eddie Shore, Red Beattie, Cooney Weiland, Bill Cowley, Jack Crawford, Bobby Bauer, Milt Schmidt, Ed Sandford, Ferny Flaman, Don McKenney, Leo Boivin, Johnny Bucyk, Wayne Cashman, Terry O’Reilly, Ray Bourque and Rick Middleton, Jason Allison, Joe Thornton, Chara, Bergeron and Marchand.
Bourque’s captaincy carried the Bruins into the 21st century before Allison and Thornton held the job, and then Chara settled in for one of the longest runs in team history. After Chara, Bergeron and Marchand both had shorter stints, with Bergeron retiring in 2023 and Marchand later traded in March of 2025.
Now the pause is ending. Boston will have a new captain before the 2026-27 season begins.
In Other News...
Bruins Just Made Their Matt Poitras Decision More Interesting
Matt Poitras is staying in the Bruins organization a little longer, and the new contract says plenty about where things stand with one of the clubs more intriguing young forwards. Boston signed the 2022 second-round pick to a one-year, two-way extension, a move that keeps him under team control through the 2026-27 season while leaving his immediate role flexible as the Bruins sort out their roster picture.
Poitras has already logged 69 NHL games with Boston, but last season also sent him back to Providence for a long stretch, a reminder that his path to a full-time job still isnt settled. With the Bruins 2026 training camp roster and preseason schedule now in view, his standing becomes one of the more interesting items to watch as camp approaches and the competition for spots starts to sharpen. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Leadership Call Is Coming With One Huge Question Attached
Bostons leadership picture got a little clearer at training camp when general manager Don Sweeney said the Bruins will have a captain in place before the season begins. It is a notable step for a team that has leaned on a broader leadership group in recent years, and it puts an official end date on the waiting as camp opens and the roster starts taking shape.
The obvious name in the mix is David Pastrnak, who remains the expected front-runner, but the bigger takeaway is how smoothly the room appears to be handling the conversation. Charlie McAvoy said there would be no friction if the job goes another way, underscoring a collaborative approach that should make the decision easier to manage even if the choice itself still carries real weight. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Face A Pavel Zacha Decision That Just Got Tougher
The Bruins next big roster conversation has shifted from the ice to the contract table, with Don Sweeney acknowledging that the club is still talking with Pavel Zachas representatives about an extension. Boston has valued Zacha as part of its center group, and the discussion now comes with the added pressure of a payroll picture that keeps tightening as salaries rise across the league.
Under the new NHL collective bargaining agreement, the Bruins no longer have the same long-term flexibility they once did with their own players, which changes how they can structure deals for Zacha and other centers. Sweeneys comments made clear that the team is weighing more than one contract issue at once, and the length of the offer may be just as important as the money when it comes to getting something done. [Read more 🡒]