How Bruins Will Handle Captain Status After Brad Marchand Trade

The Boston Bruins took a brand new direction Friday at the NHL trade deadline.

Boston traded away captain Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers, who eliminated the Bruins in each of their last two postseason runs.

Marchand earned the “C” on his jersey prior to the centennial season for the 2023-2024 campaign after Patrice Bergeron’s retirement. With Marchand gone, the Bruins have an interesting decision to make regarding a now-vacant captaincy.

Bruins general manager Don Sweeney provided a simple answer to that brief mystery when he met with the media following the 3 p.m. ET deadline.

Sweeney confirmed that the Bruins will not place a “C” on another player’s jersey for the remainder of the season, per NESN.com’s Gayle Troiani.

Marchand tallied a negative plus-minus, at minus-8, this season for the first time since the 2009-2010 campaign. The Bruins captain tallied 21 goals and 26 assists in what for now marks his final season in Boston. Marchand departs with four All-Star selections and a Stanley Cup championship in 2011. He followed his former teammates in Bergeron and Zdeno Chara for the captaincy.

Boston will definitely have veteran candidates to consider to fill the captaincy when the offseason rolls around this summer.