Ex-Bruins coach Cassidy: Marchand can be team's next captain

Former Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy thinks Brad Marchand has what it takes to succeed Patrice Bergeron as the team's next captain.

"Not that many guys are the perfect mix of everything, right? I think Bergeron was good at that, he led by example," Cassidy said during a recent appearance on "The Cam & Strick Podcast."

"He was still the hardest worker in practice; off ice, he made sure everyone felt welcome ... and set some of those rules that (Zdeno Chara) had put in place. Brad will be a great leader in terms of leading by example, will to win, been there done it."

Following Bergeron's retirement in late July, Marchand is now the longest-tenured Bruin. The 35-year-old has worn the "Spoked B" since the 2009-10 season and has amassed 372 goals and 862 points in 947 contests, ranking within the top 10 in franchise history in all three categories.

Marchand also won the Stanley Cup with the team in 2011 and is the organization's active leader in playoff goals (53), points (128), and games played (146).

Cassidy coached Marchand for six seasons before Boston fired him last June. He won the Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights this past spring during his first year behind the bench in Sin City.

The bench boss said the Bruins have plenty of "great choices" for the captaincy and may want to "go younger" by giving the nod to David Pastrnak or Charlie McAvoy.

If the Bruins end up tapping Marchand for the job, Cassidy said the talented pest will have to "learn how to deal with the younger players."

"He's got high expectations of everybody," he said. "That's just the way he is, there's nothing wrong with that, but how he communicates with those guys will probably be - my guess - his biggest challenge if he's the guy."

Bergeron donned the "C" in Beantown beginning in 2021, while Marchand has served as an alternate captain since 2018-19. Prior to naming Bergeron captain, the Bruins pranked the six-time Selke Trophy winner. The team pretended to give the honor to Marchand instead, even going as far as sewing a "C" onto his No. 63 jersey.

In July, Bruins president Cam Neely said the team hasn't started discussing who'll take over the job from Bergeron, per Boston.com's Conor Ryan.