Don Sweeney says the Boston Bruins will have a captain named before opening night, and this time he means it.
The Bruins general manager confirmed it directly on Wednesday, closing the door on another camp without a letter in the locker room.
Boston finished last season 45-27-10, good for 100 points in the standings, eighth overall and fourth in the Atlantic.
A team that competitive going into camp without a full-time captain is unusual, and it's not a great look.
David Pastrnak is the name fans keep circling. He put up 100 points last season and carries an 11.25 million dollar cap hit, 12th highest in the entire NHL.
Charlie McAvoy gets mentioned just as often around Boston.
He finished with 61 points from the blue line and a plus-13 rating, the kind of two-way weight a coach can build a room around.
Is it Pastrnak? Is it McAvoy? Sweeney isn't saying, and Marco Sturm isn't tipping his hand either.
Marco Sturm still has not settled on his captaincy pick
Sturm just wrapped his first season behind the Boston bench and still hasn't landed on who wears the letter full time.
A captain is supposed to be the steady hand in a storm. Right now the Bruins are sailing without one, and everybody in that room knows it.
Sweeney didn't offer a timeline beyond opening night. No name, no shortlist, nothing beyond the promise itself.
That's how these things usually go in Boston. The organization doesn't leak captaincy decisions, it announces them.
What we do know is the Bruins finished a year ago with a plus-22 goal differential and 272 goals scored, a roster built to contend.
A team that produces like that usually wants clarity in the room before puck drop, not a mystery hanging over training camp.
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Sweeney has now put a deadline on himself. Opening night is coming fast, and Boston still doesn't know who is going to be standing at center ice wearing the C.
Should David Pastrnak be the next captain of the Boston Bruins?
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