After more Leafs talk Friedman actually found the time to mention the Bruins.
18. Brad Marchand knows when the media is looking for something juicy, and almost always delivers. What I also like is when he just talks hockey; he’s got a great mind for the sport and is a terrific teacher. Fluto Shinzawa asked why he took the morning skate last weekend in Toronto. Marchand replied he wanted to try some new sticks. When Kyle Bukauskas asked a bit more about it, Boston’s captain explained he’d experimented with a longer stick and therefore a stiffer flex, and was going back to what he knew. “Too many people in my head,” he said, laughing.
Marchand then scored the winner against the Maple Leafs and followed with a natural hat trick 24 hours later versus Columbus. Marchand also discussed adjustments he had to make to fit the Bruins’ new system. Asked to explain further, he said, “No!” — with a big smile — and then told us that coach Jim Montgomery made a change to their breakouts. It used to be about reading and reacting to each other.
With all of the changes, Montgomery demands more structure, and Marchand joked that there are times he wants to do things the old way, but the coach prefers this method until there is more familiarity. Honestly, I wish there was more time to discuss this stuff with players and coaches. Maybe I’m just asking bad questions.
In this week's collection of thoughts, Elliotte Friedman writes about the options in front of Toronto, Philip Broberg's situation in Edmonton, best-on-best international hockey, and more.
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) but still a good read.
