Recent Stat Proves That Brad Marchand Is About To Ruin The Bruins

Patrice Bergeron, one of the longest-serving Boston Bruins' captains has retired and is passing the torch over to Brad Marchand who has been a part of the organization since 2009.

Brad Marchand has played just shy of 1,000 games in a Bruins sweater, most of which he has served as an assistant captain to Patrice Bergeron, proving how much of a leader he truly is in the locker room. The Bruins brass speaks very highly of the Halifax native, making this decision a no-brainer.

With that being said, the 35-year-old is heading into the later stages of his current 8-year deal that ends after the 2024-25 season -- the contract has a no-trade clause (NTC) attached to it as well. However, if Marchand is not extended or in this case re-signed he will become an unrestricted free agent (UFA).

This should in no way be a concern for the Bruins organization and their fans, it would be extremely unlikely Marchand would test free agency rather than signing an extension. The only issue is how much would he want?

A lot of players will take on cheaper deals that are more "friendly" in order to stay with their respected team cap-straining them. Yet most of the time it is not that simple, and general managers are left forking over a blank check to their star players in order to keep them. Obviously, that is an over-extraction but in this case, GM Don Sweeney may have to give Marchand a pretty pay raise to keep him in Boston. That is not to say Marchand wouldn't take a small pay cut for the team but the salary cap is expected to go up so do not expect him to just roll over and take it.

In the last decade, only a handful of elite players have had more points than "The Rat". Actually, six to be exact; Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, Nathan Mackinnon, Alex Ovechkin, and Leon Draisaitl. The lowest point season Marchand had over the past decade (2012-2023) was in that 2012-13 season, even then it was far from unproductive. In only his fourth year in the NHL, he played only 45 games played, but still found a way to put up an even 18/18 season for 36 points.

Brad Marchand has shown no signs of slowing down, staying consistent throughout the years, throwing in a career-high 100-point season in the 2018-19 campaign. Expect him to stick around for a little while longer Bruins' fans.