Brad Marchand had one of his worst offensive seasons in nearly a decade in 2023-24, and that could have been due to the multiple ailments that were hindering the Boston Bruins’ captain.
Marchand revealed earlier this week that he underwent three separate surgeries this summer: one to repair a torn tendon on his elbow and two to address sports hernias, one in his groin and one in his abdominal.
“I did my arm last summer, was kind of playing with it throughout the year,” Marchand told NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin on Tuesday. “I decided if it continued to aggravate me in the summer that I would get it done. The other two I did [with] a month left in the season. They kept bugging me into the summer, so I figured I’d get them taken care of.”
The 36-year-old still had a solid campaign, putting up 29 goals and 67 points over a full 82-game slate. He helped the Bruins come within two victories of defeating the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in Round 2 after again beating the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round.
“I didn’t do a whole lot of training [until] about two weeks ago,” continued the Stanley Cup champion. “So, I’m just kind of getting back into it. … The goal is to try to be ready for camp or, if not, very shortly after. But I’m just kind of getting back in the swing of things now. Going to hit it all head-on.”
There’s a serious chance that Marchand won’t be fully healthy for the start of training camp on September 18, but it looks like he should be all systems go when Boston’s season begins against the Panthers on October 8.
Brad Marchand entering twilight of excellent career
Marchand has been invaluable to the Bruins over the years, helping them win the Stanley Cup in his second season in 2011 and remaining a bonafide superstar for most of his career.
He also performed admirably after Patrice Bergeron passed along the torch ahead of last season, helping the Bruins finish second in the Atlantic Division. He amassed a very respectable 10 points in 11 games in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The hope in Beantown is that Marchand can come back healthy and help a Bruins team — one that has been bolstered by the additions of Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov — again compete for a championship in 2025 and beyond.
Marchand has said he wants to keep playing until he’s 40, but his eight-year, $49 million contract signed back in 2016 expires next summer. Still, the Nova Scotia native’s focus remains on preparing for the 2024-25 campaign.
“There’s a lot of work to be done. The summer that I had is not typical for what I’m used to, and it might take to the season. It might take a little bit into the season, but I’ll treat the next two months like a summer and train and skate the way that I normally would in the summer, kind of from now on.
“The biggest thing is probably getting conditioning back up to speed. I think that’s kind of the biggest thing. My strength’s kind of there already. Power and conditioning, I think is where I need to focus to get back to where I need to be.”
Now entering his 16th year with the Bruins, it’ll be interesting to see if the captain can lead Boston back to a championship series for the first time since 2019.
