Hi again, Bruins fans, and welcome to the 2026-27 hockey season.
It’s Friday, Sept. 25, 7:16 p.m. as I write this. Macklin Celebrini’s was announced as the next San Jose Sharks captain a few hours ago, and with the preseason coming to a close for the Bruins tonight, I figured I should put my thoughts into the Bruins captaincy conversation.
At this point, I think everyone has decided there’s two options for captain: David Pastrňák and Charlie McAvoy. Both players are current alternate captains for the team and have long since been considered leaders. Both were named alternate captains ahead of the 2023-24 season, and both are players you could consider the face of the Bruins.
While I think both could certainly step up to the plate and fulfill the role of captain, when I think of the Bruins, I think of David Pastrňák. Before I knew any other Bruins players, before I even knew Brad Marchand (sorry), I knew David Pastrňák. For me, it’s an easy answer; David Pastrňák should be captain of the Boston Bruins.
If you ask the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, they also seem to think Pastrňák deserves the C.
This is not, ironically, the only potential captaincy leak of this season.
San Jose Sharks captain Macklin Celebrini had his captaincy leaked the night before it was announced when a Twitter user noticed that the trademark ‘C’ patch had been added to his jersey on the Sharks Pro Shop.
Chicago Blackhawks captain Connor Bedard also had his captaincy leaked — kind of. During a late August interview at a charity event in Vancouver, Bedard was referred to as “Chicago Blackhawks captain” by CTV News. On September 15, Bedard was named captain of the Blackhawks.
Leaks aside, I do think that Pastrňák will be the next Bruins captain. While I think that McAvoy would also make a great captain, Pastrňák has, in a way, already been portrayed as captain. Since Marchand was traded in March of 2025, Pastrňák has been the face of the Bruins. He consistently ranks among the top ten players in the league, with NHL 27 rating him as number seven overall and the NHL website having him at number six in forwards. I’m not saying our best player has to be our captain, and I’m not saying McAvoy is a bad player. McAvoy ranks 53 overall from NHL 27 and 20 in defenseman; he’s insanely talented.
I asked a couple of my friends and followers before writing this to see what their opinions were. The overwhelming majority of them agreed that it would either be Pastrňák or McAvoy, and every single one of them said it would be Pastrňák.
It’s opening night now as I write this section. As expected, David Pastrňák was named the 28th captain of the Boston Bruins two days ago.
I truly don’t think there was a better choice.
Pastrňák has been with the Bruins since his debut in 2014, and in that time, he’s learned from some of the best. In terms of captains, there’s been Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. Having those guys to learn from has to be one of the best experiences you can get, and now, he can pass that experience down to the next generation of Bruins.
In addition to Pastrňák, Cam Neely, the current president of the Boston Bruins, had a few other names in mind when discussing team leadership this week. Players Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, Morgan Geekie, Fraser Minten and Tanner Jeannot were named as the Bruin’s leaders. Charlie McAvoy, Nikita Zadorov, Hampus Lindholm and Elias Lindholm are confirmed to wear the Alternate Captain “A” patch.
I’m excited to see what goes on with the Bruins this year. Sure, there are certainly some weak spots we could fix, and there are definitely changes I would make. Still, I’m excited for what’s to come this year, and even more for those that follow.
I’m especially excited to see what happens with our younger core. We’ll be talking about that in a few weeks, but truly, I am so excited to see what’s happening with players like Minten, Hagens and Khusnutdinov. I’ve sung their praises in the past, and I’ll continue to do so for a while. The “cub line,” as it’s come to be called, is a big soft spot for me. We have some talented young players on our roster. I’m hoping we can put them to use and make it work.
Next week, we’ll be talking about NHL 27, because truly, I am still not over those headshots. I mean…
Yeah.
We have got to talk about that, man. Poor Lohrei.
Weekly Recap
PRESEASON
Bruins @ Flyers – 09/24
> Final score: 0-2 L
Bruins @ Capitals – 09/25
> Final score: 3-2 L OT
REGULAR SEASON
Rangers @ Bruins – 09/29
> Final score: 0-3 W
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