Why the Bruins should wait to name a captain until after the season

Going into the 2023-24 season, much like The Grinch on Christmas, the Boston Bruins have gone through the process of puzzling and puzzling till their puzzler was sore (Dr. Seuss – How The Grinch Stole Christmas). All of this following significant events.

The difference between the storied hockey team of Boston and the Grinch, however, is that the Grinch saw the aftermath of an event immediately and sprung into action; whereas, the Bruins are still waiting on the results of said event and have not had a chance to spring into action.

The event for the Grinch, of course, was stealing all the presents from the Whos down in Whoville, but the Bruins event was losing captain Patrice Bergeron to retirement.

The Grinch immediately returned the presents to every single Who when he realized that Christmas was more special than just the presents people received, and the Bruins lost Bergeron to retirement, are still sitting on their hands, and have yet to name a captain for the upcoming season with the preseason 26 days from now.

Now how does this make sense? In a round about way, this is my way of saying that Boston needs to realize that the captain position is like the presents on Christmas: the captain is special, someone who can lead, and not just fill the job because it’s empty, but fills it because they fit the role.

According to records.nhl.com, the Bruins have only gone six seasons without a captain, and this season might be another good one to have without a captain, and instead play with three alternate captains.

Now while there are some strong candidates to take over Bergeron’s spot, and some even leading the charge from certain outsiders’ perspectives.

While some may look at this as a detriment to not have a captain, there really is no benefit to having an officially named captain other than someone being the designated person to talk to the referees. Anyone can be looked at as a metaphorical captain, whether they are designated as an alternate captain or not.

In fact, Boston has had success without a captain before when they won the Stanley Cup in 1970, and 1972. On top of that, the Bruins have won three division titles without a captain.

The truth of the matter with Boston right now, however, is that it is in a very delicate spot where they can choose someone for the job to just fill it, but given the team’s legacy as a well-led team, especially given their recent leadership of now-retired defenseman Zdeno Chara, and Bergeron, it may take one season without those two to figure out exactly who the right person is.

While there is a chance that something is happening behind closed doors that the Bruins don’t want to release to the public, the captain position is not something they can take lightly, and not one that can just be taken lightly.