Following their historic regular season that ended with a heartbreaking first-round playoff exit, the Boston Bruins have had many of their players’ names thrown out as potential trade candidates. It appears significant changes will be coming in the weeks and months leading up to next season’s opening faceoff. Due to the confines of the salary cap, nothing is off the table for the Bruins, who have just 15 players currently under contract for the 2023-24 season. Taylor Hall, Matt Grzelcyk, and even Vezina Trophy favourite Linus Ullmark have all been mentioned in trade rumours surrounding the club. Earlier this week, Adam Jones, a radio talk show host with WEEI 97.3 FM in Boston, questioned if the Bruins should trade Brad Marchand if Patrice Bergeron retires. The answer is plain and simple, no, they should not. This would be a massive mistake for the Bruins, and here’s why.
Bruins Trading Marchand Would Be a Huge Mistake
The thought of this preposterous suggestion of trading Marchand would be a monumental failure for the Bruins organization. He is, without a doubt, one of the NHL’s supervillains, a player every team would love to have and also a player other teams hate to play against. At 35 years old, he remains one of the Bruins’ elite offensive players, as he led the team with 10 points during their first-round series against the Florida Panthers.
Despite undergoing double hip surgery last summer, Marchand was able to return to the lineup earlier than anticipated. Originally not expected back until the end of November, he made his season debut on Oct. 28 against the Detroit Red Wings. He did so spectacularly by scoring two goals and adding an assist in the Bruins’ 5-1 win. He ended up scoring 21 goals and adding 46 assists for 67 points in 73 games last season. With a healthy offseason and regular preparation for next season, he will remain one of the Bruins’ leaders offensively.
While the 35-year-old Marchand clearly still brings an elite level of play to the Bruins’ lineup, his value to the club goes far beyond his offensive contributions. He plays in all facets of the game, including the penalty kill, where he has excelled over his career and is the Bruins’ all-time shorthanded goals leader with 33. He also remains a vital part of the Bruins’ power play and ranks seventh all-time with 208 power-play points.
From Agitator to Leader, Marchand is a Potential Future Bruins Captain
Marchand, originally drafted by the Bruins in the third round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, has seen the Bruins’ culture change over the course of his career. He has transformed from one of the NHL’s super pests into a leader for the only franchise he’s ever known. Regardless of Bergeron’s decision to return or not, Marchand has spent the last decade playing alongside one of the greatest two-way players the game has ever seen. Bergeron has helped Marchand immensely over the years, and all that experience has developed Marchand into a great leader for the Bruins.
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When and if Bergeron retires, Marchand will also be leaned on more heavily to instill the same Bruins culture that former captain Zdeno Chara and Bergeron have helped create in Boston. Despite coming out on the wrong end of two of their three Stanley Cup Final appearances, the Bruins have a winning culture within their locker room as they have been contenders for the better part of the last decade. Players have generally taken more team-friendly deals to don the Spoked-B, and Marchand has been no exception with two years remaining on his contract that carries a $6.125 million cap hit.
With Bergeron sidelined for the start of the playoffs, it was Marchand who stepped up and led the way for the Bruins; no undisciplined penalties and none of the antics between whistles that have made him public enemy number one over the years. Instead, he led by example when their captain could not do so. The performance also provided a great example of why Marchand is a deserving candidate to take on the role of the next Bruins captain whenever Bergeron decides to call it a career.
Marchand Should Be Untouchable as One of the Bruins’ All-Time Greats
Under no circumstances should the Bruins move Marchand, who will surely go down as one of the Bruins’ all-time greats at the end of his career. With 947 games played, he is set to become just the eighth player in franchise history to play 1,000 games for the club. His 862 career points rank seventh all-time, while he sits second all-time in playoff goals with 53 (two behind Cam Neely) and second all-time in playoff points with 128 (Bergeron and Krejci also have 128 career playoff points). One day his No. 63 will likely hang from the Garden’s rafters, and to see him suiting up for any other franchise besides the Bruins would be ludicrous. Marchand is a Bruin for life; anything else would be a huge mistake.