As the Bruins made their final roster trims, Pastrnak met with the media immediately following a late-morning workout in Brighton and echoed the inclusivity theme established 20 years earlier by then captain Zdeno Chara.
“We’re gonna work as a team … and make sure that everybody feels comfortable and welcome,” said Pastrnak, about to enter his 13th NHL season as one of the league’s headliners. “Young guys … it doesn’t matter if you are a rookie or a 10-year veteran, you’re always welcome here and you have a voice in the room no matter if you have a letter [on your sweater] or not.”
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The inimitable Chara, who captained the Bruins to their most recent Cup win in 2011, adamantly refused to use the term “rookie,” opting instead to refer to young talent as “new” or first- or second-year players.
Beyond filling the leadership role and acting as the voice of the players under his charge, a captain fills the vital role of conduit between the locker room and coaching staff. Marco Sturm, about to begin his second season as the Bruins bench boss, noted with a sense of relief that Pastrnak as captain allows him “not to worry about the room.”
“Sometimes, I don’t even know what’s going on in there,” added Sturm, who hopes to again direct his club to a playoff spot. “We’re a little bit separate. We are together, but we are separate, and that means having leaders in the room and you don’t have to worry about it. It’s huge.”
General manager Don Sweeney and club president Cam Neely chose Pastrnak as the captain — largely standard practice across the league — and will share their thoughts early Monday morning at TD Garden.
Pastrnak said management apprised him of the decision only in the last couple of days; he had yet to share the news with his mother, who still lives in his hometown of Havirov, Czechia — in the far eastern reaches of the country, and only some 100 miles from Chara’s hometown of Trencin, Slovakia.
“I guess this puts me in a really bad spot,” said a smiling Pastrnak of needing to bring his mother up to date.
The No. 25 pick in the 2014 draft rose to stardom here as the right winger on the so-called Perfection Line with Patrice Bergeron at center and Marchand at right wing. The trio joins the Red Wings’ “Production Line” of Sid Abel (1942-43, 1945-52), Ted Lindsay (1952-56), and Gordie Howe (1958-62) as a rare instance where three linemates ultimately ascended to their club’s captaincy.
Pastrnak reached the 100-point plateau for a fourth consecutive season in 2025-26, and has 933 points in 833 regular-season games. He needs 40 goals to eclipse the legendary Phil Esposito for second place on the club’s all-time list. John Bucyk is the leader with 545, a mark possibly within Pastrnak’s reach.
He has five more years remaining on a contract that pays $11.25 million per annum.
David Pastrnak (center) led the team’s stretch at center ice prior to Sunday’s practice session. Kevin Paul Dupont/Globe Staff
The move to name Pastrnak captain has been expected for months, with franchise defenseman Charlie McAvoy the only other logical candidate. McAvoy will continue to wear one of the club’s two “A”s as alternate captain.
McAvoy, 28, led the post-workout stretch on the ice. Pastrnak directed the pre-workout stretch.
“I think Charlie said it perfectly in one interview, it’s not a competition between us,” noted Pastrnak. “Nothing is going to change just because I have the ‘C.’ We are still leading this team together and we are going to continue doing that.”
Pastrnak has reached the Stanley Cup Final once, losing Game 7 on home ice to the St. Louis Blues. He set a career high in goals (61) and points (113) in the club’s record-setting 65-12-5 season of 2022-23.
Pastrnak credited Chara, Bergeron, and Marchand for helping him to understand the captain’s role and how important it is to the team. Bergeron, who will enter the Hockey Hall of Fame in November, always had “the right voice.”
“And that’s not easy, you know? Not easy,” mused Pastrnak. “You recognize that was a gift.”
Collectively, the three former captains imposed on everyone “their will to work.”
“Overall, their will is what stuck with me,” he said. “I became much better getting to know these guys.”
Beginning Tuesday, the work begins anew, with Pastrnak adorned with his new letter.
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com.