By Joe Haggerty
CSNNE.com Bruins InsiderFollow @hackswithhaggs
The Bruins sit on the eve of opening night against the Philadelphia Flyers, and no decision has yet been made on an alternate captain replacement for Mark Recchi on a Bs team laden with veteran leadership.
Watching Recchi collect his championship ring with the rest of the team on Tuesday night was a stark reminder the Bs are still one A jersey short of a full set with Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron serving respectively as the captain and permanent alternate captain.
There have been plenty of names bandied about for the A, and theyre all extremely good options.
Andrew Ference and Shawn Thornton are both veteran leaders and influential voices within the dressing room, and compelling arguments can be made for their letter worthiness. They wouldand shouldbe the leaders in the clubhouse.
Adam McQuaid, Nathan Horton, Chris Kelly and the departed veteran Chris Clark all wore the A during the training camp season, and are among younger players like Milan Lucic, Dennis Seidenberg and Gregory Campbell that all exhibited excellent leadership qualities over the last couple of years.
So the choice isnt easy for Claude Julien and the rest of the Bs coaching staff when it comes to a new alternate captain. There are also some different options the team could opt for as well. In fact its never a bad idea to emulate the Detroit Red Wings on any organizational levelincluding picking captains and holding an expectation of excellence among those without letters.
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With the experience that we went through last year that made those guys more confident, there is a feeling like they can lead a little bit more," Julien said. "There's that comfort in that dressing room right now with guys that have been together for a long time. So there are a lot of things that come into play, and you don't need a letter. You often use the example of Detroit because they seem to be a nice model for a lot of those things.
There are a lot of guys on that team that could also wear a letter and they don't. That doesn't stop them from being a great team, and doesn't stop those guys from leading by example whether it's on or off the ice.
The Bruins may go back to the Julien system of letter-carrying prior to Mark Recchi, and disperse the second A on a rotational schedule to multiple players over the course of the season based on numerous factors. Or there may be one clear choice for alternate captain among the list of battle-hardened players in Black and Gold.
Whichever way Julien and Co. were leaning, he wasnt tipping his hand 24 hours prior to puck drop.
It's not going to be an easy decision," Julien said. "That process is made between coaches, and obviously you always get a little input from players. But there's a lot of guys that could wear it. I know that it could be shared, it could be a monthly thing or it could be just a few guys. There are also guys that don't really need a letter to be leaders. As much importance as you guys put into it, we put as much too. But the meaning of it or what it's going to do to whoever has itor whoever doesn't have it -- is not as big of an issue as most people think.
While it may not be a huge deal, its clear by Juliens deliberation that hes not taking his letter choice lightly.
Joe Haggerty can be reached at jhaggerty@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Joe on Twitter at http:twitter.comHackswithHaggs.