By: Ryan Bosworth | Follow me on Twitter/X @RyanJBosworth
The Boston Bruins’ 2026 training camp officially opened today, as general manager Don Sweeney and head coach Marco Sturm met with the media and fielded questions about the upcoming season. The faced a wide variety of questions, and offered the same with the responses.
From questions about captaincy, player contracts, young players looking for National Hockey League jobs, and more, there were a wide variety of topics discussed. I’m going to break down my three key takeaways from the press conference as a whole.
Naming a Captain
First, and arguably the most important topic covered, is related to the Bruins’ captain vacancy and whether or not it’ll be filled after rolling out three alternate captains last year. Before taking any questions, Sweeney announced during his opening remarks that,“We are going to announce a captain this year, and we’ll do that before Opening Night. We’ve spent a lot of time, we understand the legacy of our organization, and we want to do it the right way.”
Sweeney also commented on the decision-making process behind naming a captain this year, stating,“We took our time… we know who is at the forefront of that leadership group… We’ve been talking about this for a while. We know exactly what we’re doing.”
It’s pretty clear that the captaincy is going to come down between David Pastrnak or Charlie McAvoy, both of whom have worn alternate captain ‘A’s for the past few season, and were essentially co-captains last year. McAvoy fielded a question after Captain’s Practices last week about the captaincy and if there’d be any turmoil between the two leaders if one of them were to be named captain. Of course, his answer was a resounding “no.”
Progress with Zacha’s Contract
Another big topic from the offseason was the discussion behind Pavel Zacha, and how he’s entering the final year of his contract. After a career year last year, which saw him record 30-35-65 through 78 games played, Zacha is due for a significant pay bump, especially with how the market trended this offseason.
When asked about the progress made between the two parties this offseason, Sweeney said that, despite not being quite a common ground yet, they have “Ongoing communication with Pav’s representative. Good dialogue. Have not found a landing spot, but, we know the importance of (what) [Pavel] is to our hockey club. We’d like to be able to have him come back.”
Despite not being at a “landing spot” as Sweeney put it, his answer offers some reassurance that they’re confident they’ll be able to bring Pavel back into the fold after his current contract expires. Considering his improvement year-over-year since being traded to Boston, it isn’t outlandish to say that he could improve again as he heads into the 2026-27 season, proving himself more valuable than he already has.
Confidence in James Hagens
James Hagens appeared at Rookie Camp last week, as well as the Prospects Challenge out in Buffalo, New York against the Buffalo Sabres’ prospects. Hagens’ appearance had some people scratching their heads, but as soon as the puck was dropped on game one of the showcase, one thing was made clear: Hagens is ready for a heavier workload.
Hagens recorded six goals in two games out in Buffalo, with his second game being his most dominant by a long shot. Boston beat Buffalo 4-3 in overtime, and Hagens had every one of Boston’s four goals, scoring his fourth in overtime to seal the sweep on the weekend.
When Marco Sturm was asked about Hagens earning a spot on the NHL roster, he had some words of confidence for the young player. “I was so happy. I’m glad he played in that tournament. I’ve seen it in the past with some of the guys I had. It’s a great opportunity to shine, and he did. It gives him a little bit of (a) head start. I think he feels pretty good today. … He doesn’t have to be doing this and doing that, he’s just gotta be James Hagens.”
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