Bruins
“I imply, he is the most effective two-way participant to ever play the sport. There is not any changing him on the ice or within the room.”

Brad Marchand shared a well-recognized sentiment hovering over the 2023-24 Bruins on Tuesday morning.
Whether or not it’s his sterling play on the ice or his commanding presence within the dressing room, the Bruins don’t have a singular avenue obtainable to switch a participant like Patrice Bergeron.
“Clearly the on-ice stuff — I imply, he’s the most effective two-way participant to ever play the sport,” Marchand mentioned of Bergeron following the Bruins’ first captains’ apply of the preseason. “There’s no changing him on the ice or within the room. A variety of day-to-day stuff and the way he helps guys all through totally different moments and hard occasions, we’re gonna miss him a ton there.”
Bergeron’s means to each drive play within the offensive zone and snuff out scoring probabilities down the opposite finish of the ice made him a useful asset throughout Boston’s sustained standing as a Cup contender during the last 10+ seasons.
However with Bergeron and David Krejci each hanging up their skates this summer season, the Bruins have extra on their plate than simply accounting for the absence of their two top-six pivots on the ice.
Bergeron constructed a status as one of the crucial revered gamers within the NHL over his 19 seasons with the Bruins, most of which noticed him take to the ice with an “A” or “C” stamped onto his sweater.
For Marchand, Bergeron’s knack for studying the room and communication expertise made him a useful useful resource through the years as a steadying presence for the remainder of the roster.
However despite the fact that the Bruins don’t have the means to completely change Bergeron’s intangibles within the room, Marchand believes that the Bruins have a blueprint in place so far as carrying his message transferring ahead.
Very similar to Boston’s technique for shoring up their vacancies on the ice, Marchand acknowledged that the Bruins’ hopes of addressing Bergeron and Krejci’s loss within the room will take a collective effort.
“What the fellows up to now have completed is that they did it as a bunch,” Marchand mentioned. “They have been so good at bringing a bunch of men collectively, having everybody consider the identical purpose, having a typical purpose collectively and believing in it. … There’s no staff in any sport that may have one man dictate what a staff does, however it’s how they’re in a position to convey a bunch collectively. And once more, that’s what our captains up to now have completed and our management teams up to now have completed, is that they’ve been in a position to lead by numbers and energy in numbers.
“Once we had Bergy and [Zdeno Chara], we had two captains for some time and that simply bleeds by the lineup. With Bergy … everybody had a ton of respect for him. So everybody would comply with what he did and what he mentioned, however he introduced a number of guys in collectively and gave them a number of duty and allowed them to really feel like they’d a voice and that occurred once more by the lineup.
“So we’re gonna have to do this once more this 12 months. You’re not going to switch guys like that within the room. However collectively as a bunch, we simply have to return collectively and discover out what our objectives are, what our beliefs are for this season and construct on that collectively.”
Regardless that each Bergeron and Chara casted a commanding presence in Boston’s dressing room for near 20 years, Marchand burdened that the Bruins have had no scarcity of further leaders through the years — no matter whether or not or not they’d letters on their sweaters.
Regardless of the quantity of turnover on the 2023-24 Bruins roster, Marchand famous that Boston’s revamped management core continues to be stocked with gamers who’ve donned a black-and-gold sweater for a number of years now, together with David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, and Brandon Carlo.
In fact, there nonetheless must be a singular conduit in place on the prime of Boston’s management pyramid.
Given Marchand’s prolonged tenure with the Bruins (14 seasons), his designation as Bergeron’s understudy over that prolonged stretch and his evolution from pest right into a poised chief, the 35-year-old winger looks as if the favourite to tackle the mantle as captain in 2023-24.
However Marchand as soon as once more didn’t harp a lot on the person challenges that await Boston’s reworked dressing room.
“It’s not one thing that I actually take into consideration an excessive amount of,” Marchand mentioned of the Bruins captaincy. “Clearly it’s an enormous honor to be within the management group on this group if you take a look at the fellows which were there earlier than. However we’ve all the time completed it collectively as a bunch, so no matter who wears it, it’s a collective factor and even guys with out a letter step up a number of occasions all year long.”
Given Marchand’s early status as an agitating scraper with a prolonged rap sheet of suspensions and fines, assuming the captaincy in Boston may need appeared like a far-fetched state of affairs at one time limit.
However at this stage of his profession, Marchand is trying to take a web page out of Bergeron’s guide, and grateful for the chance {that a} new 82-game slate presents.
“I feel as you become older, you mature. I’m not saying I’m mature. However then you’ve got children, and also you’ve been round … and simply how arduous it’s to win — what it takes to actually have a legit staff and even if you do, how arduous it nonetheless is,” Marchand mentioned. “Take a look at final 12 months, it’s an ideal instance.
“You simply can’t take any second with no consideration. In case you suppose you’re owed something or something is simply gonna work out in your favor.. We’re all chasing the identical dream. … Just one staff will get to win.”
Publication Signup
Keep updated on all the most recent information from Boston.com