By: Ryan Bosworth | Follow me on Twitter / X @RyanJBosworth
David Pastrnak stepped into a difficult leadership role following Brad Marchand’s departure at the trade deadline. Since then, Pastrnak has proven that, while he’s a prolific point scorer, he’s also one of the strongest leaders the Black and Gold have seen.
Pastrnak concluded the 2024-25 season posting 43-63-106 through the full 82-game season. This 106-point season would mark the third time in his career that he’d amass over 100 points. While it’s an impressive feat on its own, as he’s one of only six players to hit the mark this season, it’s even more remarkable considering the leadership workload he had to take on following the trade deadline send-offs, along with where the Bruins sat in standings when Pastrnak hit the century mark.
Not only was the Bruins’ captain traded at the deadline, but Pastrnak’s alternate captain counterpart, Charlie McAvoy, was sidelined with an infection in his shoulder due to an injury sustained during the Four Nations Face-Off in February. Without both Marchand and McAvoy in the Bruins’ lineup, Pastrnak had some big shoes to fill. And he did just that, almost effortlessly.
Pastrnak was asked about his leadership role at the Bruins’ break-up day press conference this season and stated, “Yeah. I mean, you know, I’m confident enough to be one of the leaders and lead the team. We have a lot to do as a core of leaders, unfortunately, a couple of them were injured, like Hampus [Lindholm] and Charlie [McAvoy] were injured for a long time. So obviously, those are two big keys of our core that you kind of missed on and off the ice.”
When interim head coach Joe Sacco was asked about Pastrnak’s leadership, he stated, “We lost some notable leaders at the deadline, but having said that, Pasta continued his consistent play on the ice, even ramped it up even more, shouldered more responsibility off the ice too. He did a good job. I was very impressed with it.”
“He led by being, from what I’ve gathered, more vocal than he’s normally been. He did everything he could have possibly done to help this team, and he did it, and it was a joy to watch every night,” Pastrnak’s teammate Charlie McAvoy states during breakup day, confirming the Czech native stepped up his leadership role compared to previous seasons.
While he was looked upon to step up his leadership role following what Kevin Paul Dupont called the Bruins’ “roster being gutted,” Dupont also notes that Pastrnak’s production went from 1.22 points per game to 1.55 points per game. With so many aspects of the Bruins’ roster being traded away and having to step up as a leader, Pastrnak being able to add 0.33 points per game when he was already producing at over a point per game is a feat very few players in the league would have the ability to do.
The Bruins were eliminated from playoff contention on April 5th, marking the first time since the 2015-16 season that they failed to clinch a postseason berth. Despite the disappointment, David Pastrnak showed no signs of slowing down. With five games remaining in the regular season, he posted an impressive 3-9-12. In the season finale against the visiting New Jersey Devils, Pastrnak capped off the stretch with a goal and an assist. Throughout those final five games and every game following the trade deadline, he never showed an ounce of quit.
Pastrnak’s leadership has the full support of his teammates, the coaching staff, and those around him. The way he continued to produce down the stretch, despite how the season unfolded, proves there’s no quit in him. Combined with the influence of leaders he’s played alongside in years past—like Chara, Krejci, Bergeron, and Marchand—Pastrnak checks all the boxes of what makes a great leader. Whether the Bruins opt to name a new captain or go with three alternates next season, one thing is clear: they’ve found a steady leader in David Pastrnak.
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