As we found out last spring, the Boston Bruins are brimming over with leaders both on the ice and in the dressing room.
Zdeno Chara is the undisputed captain and Patrice Bergeron is the alternate captain this season once again. The change is that with Mark Recchi's retirement, head coach Claude Julien and his team had to figure out who they wanted to take Recchi's A (for alternate captain).
Today at their first real morning skate of the 2011-12 season, defenseman Andrew Ference and forward Chris Kelly were named alternate co-captains. Ference will wear the A during home games and Kelly will get it during away games with the two guys switching that up midway through the season.
It's a fitting reward for two (pardon the cliches) hard-working and gritty players. Ference proved his value last season as he finally put together a healthy campaign and topped it off by playing great in the playoffs (haha who could forget him flipping the bird in Montreal?).
Likewise, Kelly came over in a midseason trade from Ottawa and more than exceeded any expectations that anybody had of him. He was fantastic in the playoffs, particularly in the Montreal and Philadelphia series. His toughness was proven when he wore a full cage (NCAA style) after getting a stick to the face in the postseason.
The banner will get raised tonight at TD Garden as the season kicks off with a juicy matchup between the Bruins and the Flyers. After getting their rings on Monday and having their days with the Cup over the summer, tonight represents the last look back to the incredible journey of last year's squad. It's been 39 years since Boston has seen a banner raised for the Bruins so you better believe the atmosphere should be electric.
Defenseman Adam McQuaid is a question mark for the B's since he's sick and missed the last few practices. If he's out, Matt Bartkowski will take his place.
Finally, keep an eye out for the special commemorative Stanley Cup banner patch that the B's will be wearing on their home jerseys tonight.
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