Yes, it's Saturday. Yes, I have time on my hands.
I've presented the comparison before. Those of you old enough, or steeped in NHL lore enough, may appreciate the resemblance.
The modern-day equivalent of the great Ted Lindsay
en.wikipedia.org
is Brad Marchand
en.wikipedia.org
As far as I know, Brad has never attempted to form a player's association.
Beyond that, however, the similarities are remarkable.
Marchand, like Lindsay, is not a big man. (Lindsay was 5'8", 163 pounds; Marchand is 5'9", 175 pounds.) He plays left wing and obviously shoots left. So did Ted.
Brad is a good skater though not as good as Lindsay was in his day. Marchand has more tricks but of course benefits from the much greater skill set players possess today. For his size, Marchand protects the puck extremely well, especially down low in the offensive zone.
Speaking of zones, both Lindsay and Marchand are noted for playing a complete, three zone, 200 ft. game and represent the very best of elite all around players in their respective eras. Seamless outs & puck carrying from the defensive and neutral zones; heady, creative passing and shot selection; and, especially, a willingness to go to "the dirty areas" (net front, replete with hack, whack and physical punishment on the boards to either side and behind the goaltender) and collect the garbage. They call them "greasy goals" these days.
(BTW, Greg used to look down on Phil Esposito for scoring many of his goals by planting his considerable backside in front of the goaltender and pouncing on or deflecting loose pucks into the net. We all did. The truth, then as now, is that most goals are scored this way. That's why they call them "greasy goals.")
Finally, most striking of all, Ted Lindsay and Brad Marchand share yet another trait.
Both exemplify the definition of dirty play. Terrible Ted was booed in every building but the Olympia. Substitute the Garden, and the same is true of Brad.
Lindsay was known for big, often illegal hits and plenty of stick work. He was also one of the great trash talkers in NHL history. Anything went, and then some. His battles with Maurice "Rocket" Richard were legendary. Lindsay would do or say God knows what to get Richard mad and therefore off his game, a tactic that paid rich dividends several times over.
Even so, as Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion affirmed, "For his size, I never saw (Lindsay) ever back down from nobody. Not that I can recall." He could dish it out, and he could take it.
The same is true of Marchand,
(629) Brad Marchand Feeds Lars Eller For Taunting Bench - YouTube
whose antics are many and storied:
Low bridging; slew footing (a favorite); hilarious, obscenity laced goading of opponents; working the refs; playing all kinds of games with the other team's goalie, including, for example, placing the blade of his stick under Pittsburgh's Tristan Jarry's chin; speed bagging superstar Daniel Sedin on the way to winning the 2011 Stanley Cup against a supremely skilled and heavily favored Vancouver Canucks club
Brad Marchand makes Daniel Sedin nod his head to the rhythem of his fist - Bing video
(Q.: "Why did you do that?" A.: "I felt like it.")
and, you know, licking TBL's Ryan Callahan during a playoff game,
(628) Brad Marchand licks Ryan Callahan after scrum - YouTube
which, naturally, occurred after planting a kiss on Toronto's Leo Komorov in the regular season, followed by a subsequent lick in a 2018 first round series against the Leafs,
April 12th, 2018 - Marchand licks Komarov
When asked about the incident after the game, Marchand told reporters that he "just wanted to get close to" Komarov.
Via USA TODAY Sports:
"I thought he wanted to cuddle. I just wanted to get close to him. "He keeps trying to get close to me. I don't know if he's got a thing for me or what. He's cute."
The point: like Terrible Ted before him,
(628) Ted Lindsay - HHOF Induction Intro - YouTube
(628) Terrible Ted' Lindsay took on all comers for Detroit - YouTube
Brad Marchand will do anything --
anything -- to win.
(629) Brad Marchand Being a Rat for 8 Minutes - YouTube
(629) Bruins' Brad Marchand Goes After Canadiens' Rem Pitlick Following Hit On Patrice Bergeron - YouTube
Pick up @ 1:10,
(629) Artemi Panarin Throws Glove At Brad Marchand On The Bench After Trouba Scores! - YouTube
#7 will always be a hero to me, not least for his courage in attempting to throw off the shackles of Neanderthal NHL ownership that treated players like chattel. He paid for that courage, in the form of banishment to the then cellar dwelling Chicago Blackhawks, courtesy of Jack Adams, the Red Wings tyrannical General Manager.
I won't say Marchand is a hero, but I love the guy. God help me, I do.
A final parallel between the two?
Each in their own time bore the mantle of the most hated man in hockey. Proudly, it seems.
In sports, if they hate you they respect and fear you.
And secretly, every NHL fan would give their right arm to have a player like Ted Lindsay or Brad Marchand.
What you need is a room full of guys who are willing to do anything. We had it in 2011. I think we have it again in 2018.
www.theplayerstribune.com
~ Fin ~