The Boston Bruins made headlines this past off-season with their contract fiasco with franchise goalie Jeremy Swayman. Some didn’t like the tactics used by Bruins GM Don Sweeney and company like revealing inside information about the contract talks with Swayman to pressure him into signing.
This reportedly set some uneasiness in the dressing room that ultimately resulted in Jack Adams award winner Jim Montgomery being fired from his position as Bruins bench boss. The promotion of then-assistant head coach Joe Sacco to the main role was supposed to help propel the Bruins onto a path towards the playoffs but that hasn’t been the case as they are 25-22-6 and one point out of the playoffs.
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The Bruins are currently +164 to make the postseason, which isn’t good and call their eight-year playoff appearance streak into question. Boston is listed with the third-lowest odds to win the Atlantic Division at +6000 but are seventh in odds to win the East at +1900.
Fast forward to Friday, when NHL insider Elliotte Friedman made a bold statement on his podcast “32 Thoughts” saying if the Bruins continue on a path towards not making the playoffs, that the team could look to deal their captain.
“If Boston takes on water I’m really gonna be curious to see where this goes because there was a time in this year where I didn’t think there was a chance that Marchand was going to be out and I think now it’s not as certain depending on what happens here,” Friedman said.
Marchand, 36, is a pending free agent entering the final season of his eight-year deal with a cap hit of $6.125 million per season and could present as a great rental option for a contender. The Halifax native has been to three Stanley Cup finals, winning one championship with the Bruins in 2011.
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He could be a valuable asset as a well-known agitator with a wealth of knowledge as an experienced 16-year veteran. Marchand is a gamer when he needs to be with a point-per-game average or better in six of the last seven seasons. This year, he has 19 goals and 21 assists for the second-most points on the Bruins at 40 in 53 games played.
A team reportedly looking for a winger is the Vegas Golden Knights, who would need have salary retained from Marchand’s contract if they wanted to trade for him but it could be an option as their management team is known for doing whatever it takes to be successful.
