Brad Marchand's former coach believes he'd make a good captain

With Patrice Bergeron’s retirement, not only will the Bruins have to replace him with a good center, they’ll have to replace his leadership, and that won’t be easy.

In fact, his leadership will never be replaced, but Boston will have to find the next captain. Will they wait a year or appoint a captain now?

While the next captain should theoretically be Brad Marchand (and the team may have escaped), this is not confirmed. Over the years, Marchand is/was a player his opponents hate/have hated to play against. A more talented Brendan Gallagher, let’s say. But as a teammate, the little pest is one and the same.

In fact, his former head coach, now Vegas pilot Bruce Cassidy, agrees. He thinks he’d make a good captain.

Bruce Cassidy thinks Brad Marchand could be a great choice as the #NHLBruins next Captain@CamandStrick pic.twitter.com/BOB0TgPITd

– Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) August 1, 2023

Of course, being captain of one of the world’s most glorious organizations is no easy task. Nor is replacing one of the greatest leaders of our generation. But Marchand is one of the Bruins players who could kick-start the new era in Massachusetts.

David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy also have a strong case for having the “C” embroidered on their jerseys. The problem for them: they don’t have Marchand’s track record.

In any case, at 35, the 63-year-old is in his final years on the Bettman circuit. Like Bergeron, he could be captain for a few years and leave his place to guys like Pastrnak and McAvoy, who are 27 and 25 respectively and under contract for several more seasons.

In short, I don’t know if the Bruins’ left winger will be named captain anytime soon, but if so, he’ll have the support of just about everyone, including his former head coach. I wonder what his current head coach thinks…