Bergeron gets the C for B's

Fifteen years later, the Boston Bruins have a new captain. Yes, you read that correctly. A 15-year run is over.

For the first time since 2004-05, when Joe Thornton lost his captaincy after getting traded midseason to San Jose, someone other than Zdeno Chara will be wearing the C for Boston.

On any other team, it should represent the end of an era and the start of a new chapter.

Except, it won't exactly be that way. Not with Patrice Bergeron succeeding Chara in a role that — with all due respect to Chara — Bergeron has basically been co-filling for the past 15 years.

“Obvious choice,” David Krejci said. “He had an A on his jersey but he's as much the captain as Z was.”

Indeed, expect a much smoother transition than what we're seeing in the White House these days. This isn't going from Trump to Biden, or even from a skilled playmaker in Thornton to a meat-and-potatoes defenceman in Chara.

For a team that led the NHL with 100 points after losing in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final a couple of years ago and, according to BetOnline.ag, is the oddson favourite to win the East Division, this changing of the guard should be rather seamless.

Bergeron, who arrived in Boston three years before Chara did, has been here forever. He's seen it all. He was here when Thornton was captain, back when the team couldn't score their way out of the first round. And he was here in those bloodthirsty days when Milan Lucic, Shawn Thornton and Brad Marchand bullied their way past the Vancouver Canucks to win the Stanley Cup in 2011.

The four-time Selke Trophy winner knows what works and what doesn't work in Boston. He understands the culture that the big, bad Bruins have cultivated over the years. That won't change now that Bergeron is in charge.

This is still a team that prides itself on team toughness and intimidation tactics and never backing down from a fight — with one big difference: they no longer have their 6-9 giant Chara watching over their backs anymore.

Keep that in mind the next time Marchand tries to lick someone's face.

With Chara in Washington and the scrappy Torey Krug in St. Louis, it will be interesting to see how physically intimidating a Bruins team that ranked third in fights last year can be — especially now that Boston is in a division with Washington, Philadelphia and the New York Islanders. None of them are wilting flowers in the same way that Toronto and Montreal were.

Don't expect Bergeron to suddenly drop the gloves now that he's captain. That's never been his game. But also don't expect him to shy away from trying to intimidate Boston's opponents.

The Bruins identity hasn't changed now that Chara is gone. It's still about intimidation. It will just be done a little differently than it has in the past.

Last year, Bergeron, Marchand and David Pastrnak combined for 107 goals and 238 points. That was 38 fewer goals than the Red Wings scored. And unlike Detroit, which had a minus-122 goal differential, Boston's socalled Perfection Line was a plus-69.

In some way, that can be more intimidating that going into a corner with Chara.

“To me, it's (important) to be myself,” said Bergeron. “But with that being said, I think there's a culture that's been established here for many, many years and there's been tremendous and amazing leaders and captains over the years. And Z obviously was one of those guys, where there's been a culture that's been in place and I'm going to try to carry that on.”

While the culture hasn't changed, there are differences in Boston.

The losses of Chara and Krug, who led Bruins defencemen with nine goals and 49 points, mean that the blue line might no longer be the team's strength. Boston still has a potential Norris Trophy candidate in Charlie McAvoy and the steady Brandon Carlo, as well as some younger options. But with Pastrnak expected to miss the first month after having hip surgery, even more will be demanded out of goaltenders Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak this year.

The big change, however, isn't with how Boston will play. It's with whom they will play against.

The Bruins, who have jockeyed with the Lightning for the top two spots in the conference in each of the past three years, have lost their motivator and measuring stick. It's sort of like the Red Sox getting separated from the Yankees.

Boston has also lost its Original Six rivals in Toronto and Montreal.

“It's going to be strange,” head coach Bruce Cassidy said of not facing the Maple Leafs in the regular season. “Put Montreal in that mix, too. They've been our main rival for probably 100 years. … Obviously, Toronto and Tampa are real high-end teams. But I think nowadays there's high-end teams in every division, no matter how they're constructed.

“Obviously, we're going to see Washington eight times, a great team. Pittsburgh, Philadelphia had a great year last year, the Islanders were in the final 4. So we look at it that way and focus on what we have. But yes, it will be a little bit strange not going into Toronto and the hockey market that it is.”

It will also be strange to see Chara in a Capitals jersey. What won't be strange is seeing Bergeron with the C.

After all, he's been leading the Bruins team for quite some time now.

Patrice Bergeron