The regular season is just a week away for the Boston Bruins. They will be opening the regular season on the road in Washington, DC, facing the Washington Capitals on October 8. So why haven't the Bruins named a captain?
For the first time in 20 years, the Boston Bruins will not be naming a captain for their 2025-26 season. The last time the Bruins did not name a captain going into their season was back in 2001-02, before Joe Thornton was named captain in 2002.
Three Assistants?
Three players wore the letter 'A' on their jerseys during Monday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Charlie McAvoy and David Pastrnak, the two assistants from last year under the captaincy of Brad Marchand. Hampus Lindholm also skated onto the ice wearing the 'A', showing off who the third player would be that would be the assistant captain for the team that is in rebuild mode.
Which means this season, there will be no player wearing the 'C' on their chest. Now, what did the 15-year captain think about this?
Ray Bourque's Thoughts
On Wednesday, before the start of training camp, Bruins legend Ray Bourque sat down with WEEI for an interview on his thoughts on the coming season for the Bruins.
Bourque was captain of the Black and Gold from 1985-2000. He knows what it means to be a captain. He understands the thought behind having three assistants instead of rushing to find just one captain.
"I think it just tells you that they want maybe a couple guys to step up and to take charge and to show that they're the guy," Bourque said, via WEEI, "I think they haven't seen that yet, so that's why you're seeing three assistants."
Bourque thinks this season will look more like seasons past, and the fans hope that the 2025-26 Bruins deliver that and more, bringing the Stanley Cup Playoffs back to the city of Boston.