Last year’s Stanley Cup Champions secured a piece of their future on Wednesday by coming to terms with restricted free agent Brad Marchand. Though the deal took longer than it really should have, the deal is done. Marchand has signed a five year extension with the team he won his first Stanley Cup with in his rookie year worth $5.0 million. The deal is constructed so that he will receive $2 million in 2011, and $3 million in 2012. The 5’9 183 lbs. Nova Scotia native established himself as a legitimate part of Boston’s future in his rookie year posting 21 goals and 20 assists for 40 points in the regular season, 9th in the league in points amongst rookies and 13th in amongst rookies in penalty minutes. He possessed the ability to score timely goals, and especially get under the skin of his opponents as a certified pest.
His plus/minus rating of +25 was second in the NHL amongst rookies, trailing only his teammate, Adam McQuaid. He tied for third in the NHL for shorthanded goals (5), and among his other accomplishments in his first full year with the Bruins he won the team’s 7th Player Award, an award decided by fans that honors any Bruin that went beyond the call and exceeded and excelled for the team.
His post season was even more impressive as Marchand scored a total of 11 goals in the playoffs, and 5 goals in just the Finals alone against Vancouver – two of which came in the Cup clinching game 7. His 11 goals in the post season were 2nd most only to David Krejci who scored 12. In total he netted 11 goals and 8 assists for 19 points with a +12 rating. Petty impressive for a rookie.
"It's a great fit for both of us. I'm happy with the term," Marchand said. "We talked about a little longer (deal), and I think that was just more about a little more security.
"But I think this was just a perfect fit for both parties."
So what took Marchand so long to sign? It’s simple; Marchand firmly believed himself that he was worth more. There’s no contesting the season he had, nor the future that lies ahead of him, but despite his strong year and even his Championship ring – he still has a hell of a lot more to prove.
“From the get-go, I never was going to miss a day of camp,” Marchand said during an NHL conference call. “I never wanted that. I wanted to be here the first day and show everyone I wanted to be here. I wanted to go through the whole camp with the guys and be part of the team. I’m very happy it didn’t have to come down to [a holdout] and that we could get a deal done before camp.”
Reports came in initially that Marchand (or at least his agent) was looking for in upwards of $4 million per year. I think this is a common misconception of a lot of rookies these days. One solid outing does not deserve the highest dollar, and diving even further into the matter – I would like to see some humbleness from a player that should just be thankful he landed on a good team early in his career and acquired the Cup before it eluded him for too long.
Marchand’s biggest problem came in the form of discipline – not extremely rare for a rookie tough guy as you can refer to a guy like Steve Downie in his NHL introduction with the Flyers. Marchand was suspended March 17th for a nasty hit to the head on R.J. Umberger by the NHL, citing one of his many infractions throughout the year. Various off-ice comments and on ice gestures such as the classic ‘golf swing’ he made at the Toronto Maple Leafs at the tail end of the season.
Claude Julien may just be Brad Marchand’s saving grace. Brad has the tools necessary to become a solidified power forward in the NHL for years to come, but the time is now for him to shape up mentally to allow himself to reach that status. Julien is a great coach, and the arsenal built for and by him has the potential to be a serious threat for years to come.
“These deals coming off entry-level, they’re hard to negotiate on both sides,” said General Manager Peter Chiarelli. “There’s an element where you don’t have a year of arbitration. They’re just sticky. There’s sticking points along the negotiations. We’ve seen some other players who’ve waited this long. It’s an area in the CBA where it’s a tough negotiating time for a player with that status.”
"He had a terrific year, and a terrific playoffs."
Marchand, the 3rd round selection (71st overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft saw a large gain in terms on money as he went from his entry level $600,000 to an average of $2.5 million over the next two years. Now it’s time for him to try and show that he’s worth it.
- Kendall Grubbs
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