When the New Jersey Devils scored the game-winning goal in overtime at the TD Garden last April 15, it brought to an end one of the most frustrating seasons that the Boston Bruins have struggled through. In a season that started with so much hope, things went sideways fast, and when the dust settled, they finished tied with the Philadelphia Flyers for last place in the Eastern Conference.
That is not what many envisioned when the season began. Not many people envisioned the eventual fire sale at the trade deadline by general manager Don Sweeney. Boston's GM sent captain Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers, to win a Stanley Cup, Charlie Coyle to the Colorado Avalanche, Trent Frederic to the Edmonton Oilers, Justin Brazeau to the Minnesota Wild, and Brandon Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
While it's tough to see most of those players exit Boston stage left, Sweeney basically told you who the next core of the Black and Gold are going to be. One of those players, David Pastrnak, took on the leadership role over the final six weeks of the season after Marchand was traded, and on Tuesday, following the Bruins' first captain practice of the season, he sent a warning shot to the rest of the NHL.
Bruins superstar David Pastrnak sends warning shot to the rest of the NHL about the 2025-26 Black and Gold
You could tell after the deadline that the season couldn't end fast enough. Whether it was poor roster construction, underperforming players, players playing through injuries, or anything else, the season appeared doomed from the beginning with a blowout loss on Opening Night against the Panthers in South Florida. After the captain's practice on Tuesday, Pastrnak had a warning for the rest of the NHL.
“Expectations are always the same here,'' said Pastrnak. "You play for an Original Six, they are always high and they always will be … we won’t accept what happened last year. The team that’s going to dress in October is going to be very competitive.”
He's not wrong. Expectations are always high, and I'm sure whoever ends up making Marco Sturm's first roster as head coach of the Bruins will be competitive, but just how competitive? Most of the moves made this offseason don't inject a lot of hype into the fanbase, but who knows, maybe some of the players signed as forwards will surprise. They, without a doubt, have their work cut out for themselves after the way last year unfolded, but Pastrnak knows the deal, and maybe, just maybe, the rest of the league should take notice.