When will Bruins name Patrice Bergeron’s successor? Coach weighs in

There are a lot of storylines surrounding the Bruins going into the 2023-24 NHL season — including who the next captain will be.

The captaincy was left by Patrice Bergeron when he retired this summer. Bergeron earned the C in 2021, but had long been a leader in Boston before he was named the official captain.

The Bruins don’t have to name a captain, but it appears they will. There just isn’t any sort of definitive timeline on it just yet.

“I think we are trending in the right direction towards having someone be our captain next year,” Montgomery told reporters on Thursday at the Boston Bruins Foundation golf tournament. “We’ve had internal conversations and I think decisions will be made. I don’t know if there’s a timeline yet decided.

“We have enough real good leaders that we could have a captain that would be leading us.”

Aside from losing Bergeron, the Bruins will be without David Krejci — who also retired this summer. Nick Foligno, who provided a lot of leadership during his tenure with the Bruins, was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks with Taylor Hall. So there are a lot of voids to fill, but Montgomery is confident the players in the locker room — and the next captain — understands the culture of the team.

“We lost a lot of leadership people last year. We didn’t just lose Bergy, we lost Krejc, we lost Foligno, players that were especially important,” Montgomery told reporters. “Everyone has watched those players, especially Bergy for years. And there’s a lot of players that have worn the Spoked-B for a long time and care about the culture and how we compete and we carry ourselves.”

And as for what qualities Montgomery wants to see in his next captain?

“Someone that is confident in who they are, someone that isn’t afraid to put his arm around a teammate, and also hold a teammate accountable,” Montgomery said. “And also not afraid to come in my office and hold me accountable to what he believes in and make sure I’m doing the right thing for this organization.

“He’s the go between, between the players and the coaches, and he’s got to be comfortable communicating with everyone and you guys (the media), being able to be there every day for you guys to have a source, as the pulse of the team, and who’s the leader of our team,” he added.

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The Bruins have a lot of good options for their next captain, but they don’t appear to be in any sort of rush.

The Black and Gold open their season on Oct. 11 at home against the Hall, Foligno and the Blackhawks.