Bruins may end up trading captain Brad Marchand
The captain of the Boston Bruins may have played his last game for the Original 6 team. Brad Marchand, who suffered a possible concussion in a game in late February against the Pittsburgh Penguins, may be headed out of town before the March 7 trade deadline.
The Bruins have struggled throughout the season and they have been particularly ineffective since the start of February. As a result of their poor play, they appear to have fallen out of playoff contention and the Bruins are in a sell mode. The Bruins have made the playoffs in each of the last eight seasons, and that ties them with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the most consecutive postseason appearances.
More than that, the Bruins have been a Stanley Cup playoff participant in 49 of the past 56 seasons, dating back to hockey legend Bobby Orr's second year with the team. It's difficult for a team with that kind of track record to throw up the white flag and admit that this won't be a year when the team has a shot at winning the Stanley Cup, but that is just the conclusion that general manager Don Sweeney and team president Cam Neely have reached.
NHL reporter Chris Johnston said that it “appears likely” that the Bruins would trade the 36-year-old Marchand while discussing the trade deadline on TSN's Insider Trading segment.
Marchand has been with the Bruins since 2009-2010
Marchand has the most tenure of any Bruins player on the roster. After appearing in 20 games for the Bruins in the 2009-10 season, he became a major contributor in his official rookie season of 2010-11. The Bruins would go on to win the Stanley Cup that year, and he scored 21 goals and 20 assists throughout that year.
He was a major contributor in the Stanley Cup Finals victory over the Vancouver Canucks. He scored 5 goals in the seven-game triumph, including a pair in the 4-0 Game 7 triumph.
