Boston Bruins F Brad Marchand Contract Extension Good for All
Boston Bruins F Brad Marchand: Contract Extension Is a Good Deal for Both Sides
The B’s are giddy with excitement, it only took minutes after the news had broken for the team to announce an eight-year, $49 million contract extension for Boston Bruins F Brad Marchand.
The deal averages $6.125 million dollars per season, broken up between actual salary and signing bonus money. The Bruins seem to have scored a hometown discount by an elite player who snapped home a career-high 37 goals and 60 points last season – the most goals scored by a Bruins player since Glenn Murray in 2002-03. And everybody knows goal scorers get paid in the NHL, even if Marchand won’t be expected to score that many every year.
Marchand, 28, has also been the second-leading scorer in the entire World Cup of Hockey tournament, behind only Sidney Crosby, and continues to raise his profile in the hockey world beyond his customary agitator role. Marchand could have waited for free agency if he’d wanted to pick up every dollar on the table, but it’s very clear he’s invested in the team that drafted and developed him, and with which he won a Cup five years ago.
"“This is an extremely exciting day for me and my family,” said Marchand, who now has a full no-move clause for the first five years of his next contract. “I would like to thank the Jacobs family, [president] Cam Neely, [general manager] Don Sweeney, [coach] Claude Julien, the coaching staff, my teammates and our fans for their continued support and belief in me. I have been a Bruin since the start of my pro career and there is no place I would rather play. I look forward to doing everything I can to help our team achieve success and bring the Stanley Cup back to Boston.”"
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Marchand has been among the team’s leading scorers since joining the league in 2010-11, along with being the NHL’s most dangerous penalty killer over the last five years, and pairs with Patrice Bergeron to anchor the top line. He’s also become much more of a leader in the last few seasons as other character veterans that are now gone from the core group.
It was clear Marchand was invested in the Bruins when he helped recruit free agent David Backes with phone calls this summer, and he was also present for the recruiting pitch to Jimmy Vesey last month.
The Bruins players at training camp were happy to hear No. 63 was going to be in Boston for the long haul.
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"“Marchy is Marchy. I think everybody kind of knows what that means,” said Kevan Miller. “He’s been great for our organization and great for the fans and for this city. He’s been all in since Day One, and he’s been a guy that I looked up to.”"
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Many predicted this summer that Marchand’s AAV was anywhere from $6.5M-to-7+. Even the Bruins thought that was his range, but the contract he agreed to is a total bargain for the Bruins. While the length is a tad longer than expected, the $6M per towards the end of the contract will be next to nothing for the team as they will be getting more money from their expiring TV deal. Also the NHL cap will go up a bit during the length of the contract.
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Marchand leaving money on the table allows the Bruins to have some flexibility now to go and try to acquire a top pairing defenseman. RFA Jacob Trouba is still available and is reportedly holding out of Jets training camp till the team trades him away. If there was a time for the Bruins to pull the trigger on a deal it would be now. With Marchand locked up, management can turn its full attention to trading for defensive help to try to build a Stanley Cup contending team in Boston.