As part of their centennial season, the Bruins, much like Taylor Swift, will be celebrating their eras this year. Wednesday night’s season opener against the Chicago Blackhawks will be the first of six “Era Nights,” which will “celebrate players and teams from iconic eras in Bruins history.”
Bruins season predictions and media day takeaways
Fittingly, this season feels like the start of a new era for Boston. While there’s rarely a clear line of demarcation for when one era ends and the next begins, the retirements of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci – the team’s top two centers for over a decade – this summer is about as close as you’ll get.
It begs the question: What will the next era of Bruins hockey look like? It’s a question the leaders of that next era have found themselves grappling with, and one they’re excited to start answering.
“This next chapter in Bruins history is going to be written by us,” Charlie McAvoy said at Monday’s media day at TD Garden. “…We all have something to prove. That’s me, that’s Pasta [David Pastrnak], that’s Brando [Brandon Carlo], that’s Lindy [Hampus Lindholm]. None of us have won. Been right there. We’ve gone as far as you can go.
“We have some experience, but what is our legacy going to be? I think that’s something I’m trying to internalize. I’ve got a lot of time left here that I’m extremely grateful for. We have to be building something good, and I think that’s what we’re doing.”
McAvoy, 25, is locked in through 2030. He already has two top-five finishes in Norris Trophy voting to his name, and there’s no reason to think he won’t remain among the NHL’s very best defensemen for years to come. He will be a full-time alternate captain for the first time this season after wearing the “A” on a rotational basis the last couple years.
Pastrnak, 27, joins him as a full-time “A” after also rotating in recent years. His eight-year extension, signed in March, begins this season and keeps him in Boston through 2031. Last year, he finished second in MVP voting and joined Phil Esposito as one of two Bruins to ever score 60 goals in a season. If he averages 31 goals per season over the course of his eight-year contract, he'll break Johnny Bucyk's franchise goals record.
The new “C,” of course, is 35-year-old Brad Marchand, the only player left from the 2011 Stanley Cup team who has remained in Boston ever since. Milan Lucic, another member of that team, returns to the Bruins this season, but he spent the past eight years elsewhere.
With all due respect to Marchand, who certainly could remain a very good player for several more years, McAvoy and Pastrnak are clearly the pillars of this new era. They are the superstars – one on defense, one at forward – that everything else is going to be built around. They are the budding leaders tasked with carrying on what was built by Marchand, Bergeron, Krejci and Zdeno Chara, while also finding their own voice, leading in their own way, and leaving their own imprint on the organization.
“A lot,” McAvoy said when asked what he’s learned from those leaders who came before him. “They’ve all done it in different ways. That’s probably the biggest thing, is there’s no one-size-fits-all for being a leader. You’ve seen Zee have a certain style, Krech have a different style, David Backes different style, [Nick] Foligno, Bergy obviously. All these people do it in different ways. You have to do it organically. You have to just come as who you are every day.
“I’m getting older and trying to realize who I want to be, really. I think that might be the biggest thing I’ve taken from those guys, the stuff that I love the most about them, that everybody does – they’re all gentlemen. They’re all good guys. They treat everybody the same way. Those are probably the biggest things I want to take from them and carry forward.”
McAvoy and Pastrnak continuing to grow as leaders will add to their legacy as people. Continuing to excel on the ice and compete for the NHL’s highest honors will add to their legacy as players. But both know that whether their era of Bruins hockey is ultimately considered a success will be determined by whether or not they win a Cup.
As McAvoy mentioned, they’ve been close. Both were there in 2019 when the Bruins lost in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. They thought they were on a team that could do it last year, but obviously that record-setting season ended in major disappointment in the first round.
Few are expecting the Bruins to be serious Cup contenders this season given how much they lost over the summer, but inside the walls of TD Garden and Warrior Ice Arena there remains a quiet confidence that this can still be a very good team that wins a lot of games (even if it’s not nearly as many as last year’s 65-win squad) and puts itself in position to be a competitive playoff team.
After his own historic season individually, Pastrnak’s goals for this season and the rest of his time in Boston are not about scoring 60 again or winning a Hart Trophy. He says there is only one thing motivating him now.
“It’s very simple,” Pastrnak said Monday. “It’s a championship. I want to bring the championship back to Boston. This has been my big motivation since I got in this league. I’m starting my 10th season here in Boston, so it’s time. That’s definitely the motivation, to win the championship above anything else.”