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.

David Pastrnak has known for weeks that Game 82 would be the end of the line for the Boston Bruins. But when the end came Tuesday in a 5-4 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils, the reality of the situation hit Pastrnak hard.