Sidelined since February with a shoulder injury, McAvoy said he’d heard that Pastrnak was just as good behind the scenes, too. With Marchand, Coyle, and others gone, the Bruins needed Pastrnak to assume a louder leadership role.

The 2024-25 Boston Bruins season is finally over, and by any measure, it was a disappointment. Just a year ago, the team knocked off the Toronto Maple Leafs in dramatic fashion in the first round of the NHL playoffs.

Despite the adversity, Pastrnak, the face of the franchise and one of the league’s elite point producers, has embraced the position of de facto captain