With the NHL season coming up in just over two weeks, the Bruins still have yet to name a captain. So, as we hit the time of year where a team would announce its decisions on its leadership group, the question still lingers: Who will be the next Bruins captain? Or will they even name one at all?
At the Bruins Foundation Golf Tournament on Wednesday, Bruins coach Marco Sturm indicated that decision on who -- or if -- a captain will be named will be made shortly.
“We’re still in the process,” Sturm said. “There’s been a lot of chatting, a lot of communication, but I think it’s always better when everyone comes back in Boston, back in the same place and sit down at one table. We’ve been communicating, but we’ll make a decision here before the season starts and we’ll go from there.”
Marco Sturm says the Bruins still haven’t decided if they’ll name a captain before the season.
“We've been communicating, but we'll make a decision here before the season starts, and we go from there.” pic.twitter.com/Fkg50lygex
— Scott McLaughlin (@smclaughlin9) September 9, 2026
Current alternate captains David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy are the presumed front-runners to fill the captain vacancy.
After captains' practice on Thursday, McAvoy spoke about his and Pastrnak’s combined leadership role and what he thinks will happen when a captain is finally named.
“I thought we had a great thing, myself and Dave,” McAvoy said, “We lean on each other a lot. We’ve been here a long time and we’ve both been able to learn from the same group of guys, the same people who are already up in the rafters. We’re very lucky to have had those people teach us the ways and how we can try to keep the culture going even though the names are changing, the generations are changing. The kids are more different now. It's a constant evolution, but I feel like we did a really good job.”
As for last year’s captainless approach, McAvoy said, “It was successful. We did a good job together. Whatever happens in that regard is out of my hands. I just know that regardless of it, whether it’s the same or different, we’re going to do it together.”
With the competition seeming to be close between McAvoy and Pastrnak for the open captain positions, the question arose: If someone is given the “C,” do you think there would be friction between him and the player who didn’t get it?
McAvoy answered definitively: “No, no, I don’t.”
“I mean, look, we’ve been here a long time, the two of us,” McAvoy said. “Dave’s going to be, I think, a Hall of Famer. I think he’ll be retired here. He’s done so much. Who he is as a person and as a teammate and what he means to this organization and team, I love him to death. He would be extremely deserving. Whatever happens, it’s out of my hands, but I don’t think there would be any friction.”
McAvoy on if there would be friction if the captaincy is handed out:
“No, no. I mean look, we’ve been here a long time the two of us. Dave’s going to be I think a Hall of Famer, I think he’ll be retired here, he’s done so much…
“I don’t think there would be any friction.” pic.twitter.com/JWYYhJQHXY
— Bridgette Proulx (@bridgetteproulx) September 10, 2026
McAvoy said last year was a good start in learning how to lead together, no matter which person wears the “C.”
“That’s how Zee [Zdeno Chara] did it, that’s how Bergy [Patrice Bergeron] did it," McAvoy said. "It’s not something that you just do alone, so I think it was a good exercise last year and collaboration in how we wanted to do it together."
