Brad Marchand hasnt been as visible around Boston as some of his Bruins teammates during the NHL lockout, but the Bs agitator is around the city these days and not looking to go anywhere else soon. The rabble-rousing forward signed a four-year, 18 million deal with the Bs this summer, and told CSNNE.com that hes not thinking about fleeing to Europe unless things get extremely dire with the NHL season.
Guys like me and Gregory Campbell are built like Greek gods, so we dont really need to go anywhere else to play, said Marchand to CSNNE.com with a smirk. In a situation like this you explore every option and look for something thats right for you. When the right time comes heading to Europe could be in the cards, but Im not looking to go over there right at this point. But Im keeping my options open right now.
So mark Bostons resident honey badger among the list of players that will remain states-side unless the entire NHL regular season is cancelled in the next few months. The NHL and NHLPA are set to meet in Toronto this week, and its expected that another round of games will be cancelled this week if the two sides cant find a mutually beneficial agreement on collective bargaining.
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Hockey is in a great spot right now, and its really grown over the years, said Marchand, who visited with a group of Cambridge youth hockey players last week on Thursday night when he and his teammates would have been opening the season in Philadelphia.
More people are being drawn to the game and thats what were working for. We dont want to see the game regress. We want to make sure we continue to build it, and dont want to do anything to affect that.
We have to find a deal that both sides are happy with . . . well know when were at that point.
Marchand has potted 49 goals and 96 points over the last two seasons for the Bruins, and has become a cult fan favorite with room to continue developing his game at only 24 years old. The Bs forward appears to be among a group of players, including Milan Lucic, that are making a point of showing support for the NHLPA while eschewing potential interest from European teamsand thereby taking jobs away from some of their fellow hockey-playing brothers that would have employment overseas if there wasnt an NHL lockout taking hold.