Typically an engaging and eager talker, Marchand wanted no part of the contract dialogue, though he made clear he was aware of the three-year term noted in Friedman’s report.
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Fresh off finally scoring his first goal of the season, career No. 402,
Brad Marchand Saturday night flatly denied a media report that he is close to signing a contract extension with the Bruins, one that veteran Toronto-based reporter
Elliotte Friedman suggested on Canadian TV would cover three more seasons.
Typically an engaging and eager talker, Marchand wanted no part of the contract dialogue, though he made clear he was aware of the three-year term noted in Friedman’s report.
“That report from Elliotte,” stated Marchand, after
poking home the OT game winner (4-3) vs. the Leafs at the Garden, “is false.”
“Elliotte,” Marchand added a few seconds later, “is just wrong there.”
For those keeping track of cash and cap figures at home, the highly-respected Friedman is rarely, if ever, off the mark. He is one of the small gaggle of reporters wired directly to the game’s biggest agents such as
Wade Arnott, Marchand’s representative of record.
Marchand, 36, will sign a new deal soon – both he and GM
Don Sweeney have said since the summer that they are committed to getting it done. Three years is the likely term, and logical payout (spitballing here) would be in the $10-$12M range, albeit with achievable performance bonuses ultimately determining the final gross value of the deal.
Ahead of 2022-23, then team captain
Patrice Bergeron signed a one-year/$5M pact that Sweeney hammered out around $1M in signing bonus, $1.5M in guaranteed salary and $2.5M worth of performance bonuses.
More to come on all that, probably sooner rather than later, and don’t be surprised if the intrepid Friedman nailed it.
Marchand currently is on target to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1, upon the expiration of his current 8-year/$49M pact that, in typical Marchand style, he outperformed.
Meanwhile, rarely noted in the ever-lengthening narrative around Marchand is the fact that this year or next he should record his 1,000th NHL point. The former third-round draft pick (No. 71) in 2006 now has 935 career points, fourth best in his draft class, and one day soon will join an elite four-figure group that today numbers only 98 NHLers.
“You could tell how happy our bench was when he scored that goal,” said Bruins coach
Jim Montgomery, who awarded his group with a day of rest on Sunday. “He’s our leader. And he’s someone that embodies what it is to be a Bruin – the way he carries himself on the ice, off the ice, everything . . . and he’s our captain.”
Question of the day, with no easy answer: Once Marchand chooses to retire, who’s your pick to wear the ‘C’?