Who will Bruins turn to for second ‘A’ this season?

For the first time in what feels like at least a decade, the Boston Bruins are a team in need of additional leadership.

In addition to the departure of longtime alternate captain David Krejci, this offseason saw veteran defenseman Kevan Miller retire from hockey. Even Sean Kuraly, one of the team’s longer tenured players among the complementary core, left to join his hometown Columbus Blue Jackets.

It’s left the Bruins without a definite pick to join Brad Marchand as the team’s other alternate captain helping team captain Patrice Bergeron lead the way, but with a ton of options for Bruce Cassidy’s locker room.

So, just who would be considered the leaders in the clubhouse when it comes to that second ‘A?’

• Charlie Coyle

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  I mean, if the Bruins are going for a direct replacement of Krejci, giving Charlie Coyle the 'A' in addition to his spot between Taylor Hall and Craig Smith on the Boston second line is the way to go. The Weymouth, Mass. actually wore an 'A' for the Bruins in the past, too, wearing it at a point in 2021 and when the Bruins played the Wild in 2020.

• Brandon Carlo

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  Another player with experience wearing an 'A' for the Bruins, Brandon Carlo might be the safest bet out of the group, to be honest. In addition to his past experience, Carlo has also served as the B's player rep in the NHLPA. He's also spent significant chunks of his career playing opposite two of the team's leaders of the past, Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug, and has definitely picked up a thing or two from their styles of communicating and leading by example. Carlo is also entering the first year of a six-year, $24.6 million contract set to keep him in Boston through the 2026-27 season.

• Nick Foligno

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  It may be Nick Foligno's first year in Boston, but it would hardly be his first year asked to be a leader. Named team captain before the 2015-16 season, the 33-year-old Foligno was actually the longest-serving captain in Blue Jackets history prior to his 2021 trade deadline trade to Toronto, and won the league's top leadership awards, the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and Mark Messier Leadership Award, in 2017. Foligno is also arriving to the B's with the expectation that he'll provide an extra voice.
• Charlie McAvoy

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  Make no mistake about it, the Boston blue line belongs to Charlie McAvoy. Emerging as a legitimate Norris Trophy contender in 2021, McAvoy has become Cassidy's do-it-all defenseman, and for good reason. It would also seem natural that the next step for McAvoy comes with being the true 'leader' of that group with a letter on his sweater. McAvoy has captain experience, too, as he was an alternate captain for the Team USA team that won gold at the 2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and also served as an alternate captain for the Boston University Terriers.

• Craig Smith

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  Year 1 in Boston was a success for free agent addition Craig Smith. Finding his fit in a second-line shooting role with the Bruins, the 32-year-old actually enters the 2021-22 season as one of the more experienced skaters on this roster, with over 700 games of NHL experience since the 2011-12 season. This wouldn't be an out of the blue pick beyond the games played stat, either, as Smith served as an assistant captain for the Wisconsin Badgers as a sophomore back in 2010-11.

• Taylor Hall

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  The Bruins saw positive results from Taylor Hall watching Brad Marchand closely last season. From consistency to practice habits, the Bruins got the best out of Hall in 2021, and were comfortable enough with that to sign him to a multi-year extension. And there's no doubt that Hall has said and done all the right things with the Bruins. The next ask for Hall in 2021-22 could be asking him to drive his line now that Krejci is out of town. Should he prove capable of doing that, that does come with a natural leadership aspect. Hall has experience wearing a letter, too, as he was an alternate captain for both the Oilers and Devils. It would also be the next step in Hall's following in Marchand's steps with the Bruins, which they'd certainly take.
• Matt Grzelcyk

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  Here's a stat that may surprise you: Since the start of the 2017-18 season, Matt Grzelcyk has actually played the ninth-most games among all Bruins skaters, with 232. Two of the players ahead of him on that list (Krejci and Kuraly) are not here anymore, essentially making the Charlestown, Mass. native the seventh-most experienced voice in that room. That could certainly elevate him to bonafide leader status (and the Bruins have talked about Grzelcyk being among that next wave of leaders within the ever-changing Boston room), and Grzelcyk served as Boston University's captain as a junior and senior.

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Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.