Orland Kurtenblog --- The $5 mil total also proves that, if you want to make some serious money in the league, you should try speedbagging a Sedin.Brad Marchand plays on the edge all the time and during the Stanley Cup finals Marchand was up in Daniel Sedin's grill for most of the series... Just a little reminder in case anyone forgot, how about this move by Brad Marchand as he showed Daniel Sedin if you going to keep skating after the whistle Marchand is going to protect himself. [Click to view video] Again, did people expect Marchand to just let Sedin run him?
I mean, let’s be real here. Marchand is a good player and you can’t downplay his postseason effectiveness — but everyone knows how he made a name for himself, and it wasn’t for relentless back-checking. Marchand whaled on the Art Ross trophy winner, bragged about it, and everybody ate it up. Fans, media and television talking heads were tripping over each other to anoint him the rodent du jour, taking the “next Ken Linesman” label away from Dave Bolland (who, to be fair, took it away from Steve Ott. I think the point here is the “rat king” label frequently changes holders.) This wasn’t necessarily wrong, just overblown. On the list of things that prevented Vancouver from winning, Marchand’s agitation skills were somewhere in the middle
Image by Getty Images via @daylife Fluto Shinzawa; Boston.com --- The Bruins have confirmed that Brad Marchand has agreed to a contract extension. According to TSN, Marchand has signed a two-year, $5 million contract, giving him an annual cap hit of $2.5 million. Marchand will earn $2 million this season and $3 million in 2012-13. Marchand will be under contract and alongside his teammates when camp officially opens on Friday at TD Garden.
“From the get-go, I never was going to miss a day of camp,” Marchand said during a 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.”
Marchand’s extension was framed primarily by the two-year, $5.75 million contract that Logan Couture signed with San Jose. Couture, one of three finalists for the Calder Trophy last year, scored 32 goals. Marchand scored 21 goals and 20 assists.
BOLTON, Mass. -- The Bruins assembled at The International in Bolton for the annual Bruins Foundation Golf Tournament on Monday, and Brad Marchand was once again present with his teammates.
Marchand has been skating with the Bruins in their captain's practices, but the restricted free-agent forward remains without a new contract with veterans due to report to training camp on Friday.
The fact that Marchand remains involved in team functions gives reason for some optimism that a deal will be reached soon, but both sides remained relatively mum on the state of the negotiations.
"I'm not going to comment on that," Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said. "I can say that I love the way he plays and he's a very good player for us."
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Scott Cullen; TSN --- After winning their first Stanley Cup since 1972, the Boston Bruins don't need a whole lot more good news, but they have some nevertheless.
Off-Season Game Plan looks at the Bruins' roster and what GM Peter Chiarelli might do to give the Bruins a shot at back-to-back titles.
The good news for the Bruins, unlike the 2010-champion Chicago Blackhawks, is that the Bruins are in a favourable financial position with respect to the salary cap.
Through Chiarelli's savvy, the Bruins should not only have the room to bring back any or all of the players from their championship team, they should still have the wherewithal to address some needs.
Of course, coming off a Stanley Cup win, it's not like the Bruins have massive holes to fill.
They could use more skilled offensive players, whether on the wing or on defence, in the hopes that might help fix a power play that was an albatross down the stretch and throughout the playoffs. It's almost unbelievable that the Bruins could win the Stanley Cup tournament while struggling for so long with the man advantage, yet that actually happened.
A factor that is already in the Bruins' favour is that they have room for internal improvement, with young players like Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin the most likely to play more significant roles going forward
Image by Getty Images via @daylifeBruce Dowbiggen from the Globe and Mail has a head scratcher of an article in Sunday's Globe and Mail sports page.NEGATIVE IMAGESIs there a double standard when it comes to P.K. Subban? I don't believe so. What do you think?
As the NHL hands out its awards in Las Vegas Tuesday, it’ll be looking to expunge the media images from one of the nastiest Stanley Cup finals in recent memory. Most depressing was the image of thousands of young men in Vancouver who seem to have mistaken a riot for a South Park episode. The other was the sight of Boston Bruins rookie Brad Marchand using the head of Hart Trophy finalist Daniel Sedin as a speed bag – to the approval of hockey’s blood culture.
The league can’t do much for the street rioting but it could do something about the latter. Imagine an NBA rookie speed-bagging Dirk Nowitzki’s head going into a timeout or a first-year NFL player hitting Tom Brady in the head repeatedly after the play. What do you think the response would be from those leagues? They’d hammer the kid.
But the NHL stands by as useless as a Vancouver city cop watching his cruiser burn. Better yet, media types – some of whom piously decry fighting – blame Sedin for bruising Marchand’s knuckles and tell Vancouver to wise up and get some tough guys. Hope all the parents with kids in hockey are following this.
DOUBLE STANDARD
One final thought on rookie Marchand: How come when he abuses a superstar he’s applauded by Hockey Night in Canada and the media as a savvy kid who gets under the skin to win. But when Montreal Canadiens rookie P.K. Subban did the same, we were told by the same voices that he was a punk with no respect who needed to be taken down a notch? Is it because Marchand is a Bruin, a sacred squad on Hockey Night, because Sedin is a European or because Marchand is white while Subban is black, or all of the above. Take all the time you need to answer.
Image via WikipediaI found this comment by a Canucks' fan on Puck Daddy and it's too good to not share... I have seen comments like this all over "the Internet" on all kinds of sites both on hockey blogs and on line newspapers; there are actually people out there that really think that the NHL refs were against the Vancouver Canucks and wanted the Boston Bruins to win the Stanley Cup... I mean seriously this is tin foil hat stuff. Everyone thinks of the Burrows biting incident but there were much more after the whistle incident committed by Boston.....eg sucker punching Burrows, Marchand hitting face punching Sedin several times in front of the ref..no call? it is usually called.
It was clear that the refs and NHL was routing for Boston to win the cup...no doubt in my mind. Why? I don't know but may have been due to Burrows-Auje incident a long time ago. But also, Rome hits a guy down who can't play for the rest of the playoffs and he is suspended while Mason Raymond can't play until next November and Boychuk getting a pat on the shoulder? Not to mention.....everyone condemns Rome because he put someone out of the playoffs but what about Chara's hit on Pacrioetty that ends regular season, playoffs and some of next season and he gets nothing.. Give me a break!!!
The NHL clearly favors American teams. No doubt in my mind....for a simple reason. The Canadian economy can only sustain 4-5 teams whereas the American can sustain a league of 30-40 teams. So in order to generate interest, you need that American excitement.....helps Bettman to keep his job too. If No NHL, No job for Bettman. Do you know his salary is 6-7 million per year? Yeah, if I were in his shoes, I would find ways to promote the NHL to make money....that's my job..
Darren Dregger; TSN ---- But late in the third period of Game 6, Brad Marchand of the Bruins punched Daniel Sedin four times and the Canucks forward did not retaliate.Here is the problem; the Vancouver Canucks brought this stuff on themselves during the Stanley Cup playoffs. The buffoonery started in the first round when the Canucks GM complained about the amount of power plays that his team failed to get against the Blackhawks. The nonsense didn't stop there, the Canucks, dove, flailed, bit, taunted, threw their heads back and slashed their way through the Stanley Cup Playoffs... In addition the Vancouver Canucks mouthed off in the media and disrespected the Boston Bruins. I wonder if Roberto Luongo still wants to wants to give goaltending lessons to Tim Thomas. I just don't feel any empathy towards them and I can see why a lot of us hate them. The Boston Bruins have also responded in kind to the Canucks antics.
Afterwards, Sedin said he'll take those punches but he did get upset when referee Kelly Sutherland separated the two players.
Sedin said he asked Sutherland why he wasn't calling a penalty and the referee responded with 'I will'. Sedin jokingly replied, 'When, after the fifth punch?'
So according to the Canucks, there is a theme that has evolved in this series.
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| Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America |
The Hockey News --- Speaking of room for improvement, another burr in the sides of B’s fans has been blueliner Tomas Kaberle. Since coming over in a much-ballyhooed trade from Toronto, the stoic Czech has underwhelmed. That same Boston power play floundered under his influence, which is strange, since that was so much of his game with the Maple Leafs.
But don’t complain, Bruins faithful. Kaberle may not have been remarkable so far in the playoffs, but he too has room for improvement and his ceiling is higher than any of the other options. Think about it: you have a No. 1 defenseman playing the fifth-most minutes (18:06 per game) among Boston blueliners. If he can up his game, all of a sudden the pressure is alleviated from minute-munchers Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg, both of whom are dangerously close to playing 29 minutes per contest.
As for the price Kaberle came at - specifically big prospect center Joe Colborne and a first round draft pick, plus a conditional pick - it will all be worth it if Boston wins the Stanley Cup. Yes, Colborne is starting to round into form as a dangerous pivot in the Toronto organization, but the Bruins aren’t starved for young talent (Brad Marchand being the latest breakout star). Plus, that draft pick will be in the No. 27-30 range thanks to the Bruins’ march to the conference final and potentially beyond.
Ending nearly 40 years of Stanley Cup starvation is worth paying a high price for. Kaberle is an unrestricted free agent this summer, but if his presence in any way helps the Bruins lift the chalice, Boston can say “see ya” on July 1 with a clear conscience
