It probably goes without saying, but Patrice Bergeron is in line to be the next captain of the Boston Bruins.

Bruins coach Claude Julien acknowledged Wednesday that Bergeron is the logical choice to be the next guy to wear the C once current captain Zdeno Chara moves on or retires, assuming Bergeron’s still in Boston.

Considering Bergeron just signed a long-term contract extension in 2013 and the fact he’s already considered one of the best leaders in hockey, it’s clearly a matter of time before he turns in his alternate captain “A” for the captain’s “C.”

“It’s probably undeniable that down the road when (Chara) is done with his career, if Bergeron is here it would be pretty hard to not make him the next captain,” Julien said, according to CSNNE.com. “So I think he feels comfortable in dealing with issues that maybe he didn’t two or three years ago. I think that’s just a player being a little more of a veteran player every year, and that we’ve got some young players that need some leadership.

“So he’s kind of taken over a little bit.”

Again, it’s not much of a shock Bergeron would be the next in a long line of Bruins icons to be named captain, as No. 37 continues to play the best hockey of his career. The reigning Selke Trophy winner has 18 goals and 26 assists this season and has been Boston’s most consistent performer in an otherwise uneven season.

The Bruins will lean even harder on Bergeron both on and off the ice in the coming weeks. The Bruins are fighting for their playoff lives, and Bergeron might need to take even more responsibility in the offensive end as center David Krejci is out for the foreseeable future and newly acquired winger Brett Connolly is out for six weeks after breaking a bone in his hand during just his second practice with the team Wednesday.

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