The 2024-25 Bruins season has not exactly gone according to plan for Brad Marchand and the rest of his teammates.
Boston entered a new campaign seemingly poised to build off the promise showcased by an overachieving roster in 2023-24 -- especially after shelling out over $80 million in free agency to seemingly upgrade the depth chart.
But that optimism has dissipated in short order, with Boston currently clinging onto the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference -- with four other teams within four points of them in the standings.
Add in the firing of Jim Montgomery, several players mired in a severe on-ice regression, and Marchand himself have to snuff out a sports-radio narrative regarding his supposed prickly relationship with David Pastrnak, and it's evident that this current campaign has shrouded in frustration since the puck first dropped in Florida on Oct. 8.
"Well, it's been up and down," Bruins legend Ray Bourque said at the Boston Bruins Foundation's gala on Wednesday. "I mean, I think just being more consistent -- and I think they know how they have to play, and it's trying to get to play your game, every night."
While franchise staples like Bourque and Patrice Bergeron no longer lace their skates for the Bruins, the investment in the product on the ice remains the same -- especially for a former captain in Bergeron who skated with several players still on Boston's current roster.
And while the 39-year-old Bergeron acknowledged that this current roster has gone through some daunting challenges this season, he also preached patience and stressed that the leadership group still entrenched in the locker room has the means to pull the team out of this extended malaise.
"It's just making sure everything stays afloat and everyone stays connected. It's easy sometimes when things don't go your way, to kind of try to fix it on your own," Beegeron said. "And I think it's important to do it as a team. ... It's a lot on your shoulders, and whether it's Marchy or the rest of the leadership group, I know they have lots of experience, and they know how to handle it."
Beyond the lack of the results on the ice, Marchand and the rest of his teammates have also had to trudge through multiple off-ice distractions in narratives -- with Marchand spending several scrums parsing through topics like his friendship with Pastrnak, getting shoved by Montgomery in a game, and much more.
But amid all that tough sledding, Bergeron stressed that the most important thing for this current roster is to tune out the noise and embrace some of the adversity that they've gone through -- especially if it leads to greater returns during this second-half stretch.
"It's really about staying connected and not really listening to the outside noise, which sometimes -- I do understand that it gets to you," Bergeron said. "With that being said, try to make a little bubble within your locker room, and worry about what you can really control, and worry about the process as well.
"It's a long year, and there's gonna be some bumps on the road and some ups and downs, and that's okay. That's part of the challenging part of the journey, and you have to embrace all of it. Maybe in the moment, it's not always as enjoyable as you'd like it to be, but it's going to make you a better team and better player for the long run."
As turbulent as the first four months of this Bruins season has been, Bergeron offered up his full support for his longtime teammate in Marchand for how he's handled all these challenges in his second year as captain.
"We're close friends, right? We've had many conversations ... It's just the nature of how much we love the game. ... As I said to him, it's just more about making sure he doesn't take the load all on his shoulders," Bergeron noted.
"As a captain, sometimes that's the biggest thing. You want to make sure everyone is doing well, but you have to take care of yourself as well. But that being said, he's doing amazing, and I'm just glad that he's the captain of this franchise."