On Wednesday, the Boston Bruins officially announced that Brad Marchand will be the 27th captain in team history taking the helm following the retirement of Patrice Bergeron.
Per the Bruins release:
"“I am extremely proud of Brad and the hockey player he has become,” said Boston Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs. “Brad has been a Bruin for over 15 years and had the opportunity to learn from great leaders in Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron. He is ready for this opportunity and our whole team will learn from his competitive nature and tenacity. I am confident he will represent our organization with heart and grit.”"
Marchand assumes the role after 14 seasons in the NHL, and also enters as the most tenured player on the team. He has acted many a time as the de-facto leader of the locker room when the actual captain was hurt, or when the team simply needed a veteran voice to turn to.
Marchand has played his entire career with the Bruins where he has played in 947 regular season games where he has scored 372 goals and tallied 490 assists (862 points). He has also played in 146 playoff games where he has scored 53 goals and tallied 75 assists (128 points).
Marchand is one of two players on the active roster to have been on the 2011 Stanley Cup Championship winning roster, the other being Milan Lucic.
He is, however, not the only one with Stanley Cup finals experience as Boston has at least five others who have played in the big series.
Marchand ranks first in plus-minus rating among all active players with a +290 rating. He also fourth in franchise history in game winning goals, second in playoff goals, and second in playoff points among other stats including being named to the “Historic 100” list.
Throughout the summer it was almost assumed by many in the media that Marchand would be the new captain given his front of the meeting status, but it was only confirmed on Wednesday.
The Bruins will be first in action on Sunday, September 24 against the New York Rangers at home, puck drop is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.