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Photo Credit: NHL.com

By Court Lalonde                    Follow me on Twitter:@courtlalonde

With a 1-2 record to start the 2017 season, the Boston Bruins are searching for answers to what they can do to right the ship.  Many fans have taken to social media to show their displeasure and are blaming the usual suspects like Tuukka Rask and Zdeno Chara.  There seems to be a lot of questions surrounding the team’s leadership and the goaltending.  They have scored seven goals over the past three games, but that includes being shut out by the Colorado Avalanche at home the other night.  The Bruins penalty kill which is strong year after year hasn’t played well and has allowed three goals against out of eleven times a man down.  One of the biggest glaring holes is the absence of Patrice Bergeron for the second straight start to the regular season.  Bergeron has a lower-body injury and is day-to-day right now.  The thought of the team is that he might play this weekend, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet.

The loss of Bergeron is a huge one for this organization who have been spoiled to have a player of his caliber for 13 seasons coming into his 14th season with the club.  He is a leader on and off the ice and is well respected around the league for his two-way play, and winning the Selke Trophy four times which ties a National Hockey League record set by Bob Gainey.  You could say that Bergeron is the best two-way player in the game today and you would have a hard time trying to find someone to argue that with you.

We all know that when Zdeno Chara is no longer with the Bruins organization that Bergeron will become the next captain of this hockey club.  I will even go out on a limb here and say that when Bergeron retires his number 37 will hang from the rafters of the Garden.  Lately, social media has been suggesting that Chara should give his captaincy to Bergeron.  People are even blaming this slow start to this factor along with Rask as per usual.  Bergeron is part of the leadership group with the Bruins along with Chara, David Backes, David Krejci, and Brad Marchand.  The one difference is that Chara has a C on his chest and speaks to the refs when its needed during the game.

 

A team captain is someone the teams listen to or follows by example. Bergeron does all of those things for his team even without being the captain.  It’s a great honor in the NHL to be named a captain, and a duty that is not taken lightly by the players that wear the C.  Zdeno Chara is a future hall of famer and could also have his number up in the rafters at the Gardens.  Some of the reasoning that Chara shouldn’t be the captain anymore is that he is “too old” or that he “can’t compete.”  Right now Chara leads the Bruins in average ice time like he does every year and leads the team in plus/minus with a +2 rating.  The 40-year-old Chara was eighth on the team in points last year, tied for plus/minus with a +18 rating and first on the team in average ice time.

Just because Bergeron isn’t the captain of the Boston Bruins doesn’t mean he doesn’t impact the team in a leadership capacity. He doesn’t need the C on his jersey to lead this team and its young players.  When he returns, we will see a change in this current Bruins team and Bergeron will lead by example on the ice.  One day Bergeron will be the captain of the Boston Bruins, and it will come soon, we all just have to wait because he isn’t rushing Chara out the door.