Sturm Weighs In on Bruins’ Captaincy – The Hockey Writers – Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins have been without a captain since the team traded away Brad Marchand at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline. The absence has been understandable given the state of transition the Bruins have been in over the past two offseasons, but the team will need to make a decision on who wears the “C” at some point. Head coach Marco Sturm recently shared his thoughts on what he’s looking for regarding the role.

“One of the problems and issues we have here in Boston is that we had a guy like Bergeron, that we had a guy like Chara, or even Ray Bourque,” Sturm told Evan Marinofsky. “We had such good, high-quality captains here. So everyone thinks automatically, ‘Oh, we need a guy like him.’ But that’s different. These guys are gone. It’s a new generation; they’re different now.”

Sturm continued by specifically singling out David Pastrnak and how he differs from guys like Bergeron and Chara but still offers strong leadership in a different way.

“If you look at our guys now, I think David [Pastrnak], he’s a totally different leader as a Bergeron or Chara. Totally different. Which is absolutely fine,” Sturm said. “I played with a guy like [Alex] Ovechkin. He’s like that. He’s totally different. [That] doesn’t mean he’s a bad leader; he just does things differently.”

Bruins Have Multiple Leaders on the Roster

Pastrnak isn’t alone when it comes to leadership in Boston. Charlie McAvoy, Nikita Zadorov, Hampus Lindholm and other veterans like Pavel Zacha, Sean Kuraly and Elias Lindholm also provide plenty of experience and leadership in the Bruins’ locker room and can offer their fair share of guidance to other players on the team regardless of any letter stitched on the front of their jersey. The captaincy, however, comes with more responsibility than simply being a veteran.

“I do believe we have good leaders in our locker room,” said Sturm. “For me, personally, as a coach, he needs a strong voice in the room, obviously, but also who helps me out. He should be the connection between coaches and also for the players in a lot of different areas of the game, on ice, off ice, you name it. Also, he can stay very calm during stressful moments.”

Pastrnak and McAvoy Both Strong Captain Options

It’s unfair to expect any player to step into this role and immediately replicate the job that Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron did during their time in Boston. Both players were essentially a coach’s dream captain and they happened to both be on the roster at the same time for such a prolonged period of time. Pastrnak and McAvoy both shared a locker room with both former captains and were taught how to lead by example. If one of them is given the responsibilities of officially being named captain, which some believe should be a given in the case of Pastrnak, it may be different, but it’ll still share some elements.

It’s also important to note that regardless of who wears the “C” on their jersey, both Pastrnak and McAvoy will share in much of the duties the same way Chara and Bergeron did before them. It may not be in an official capacity, but leaders lead and both of these players are tailor-made for the role, even if only one can earn the distinction.

If the choice is indeed between these two players, then the Bruins cannot make a wrong decision.