The Boston Bruins have been pretty busy so far this summer, signing David Backes among others, which has temporarily taken the focus off of Brad Marchand and his contract which will expire after 2016-17. Despite the Bruins focusing heavily on the open market, GM Don Sweeney has stated that Marchand remains a focus and will be addressed in short order.
Sweeney’s comments, via NESN:
“There’s no slow playing there. We will pick up in a timely fashion. We’ve got a couple other things that we’re exploring in the next day or so, take a deep breath. But we will be exploring completing that for Brad in short order.”
Fear not, Bruins fans – It sounds like Marchand will have a new contract in good time, rewarding him for his career-high 37 goals and 60 points in 2015-16. He currently has a cap hit of $4.5 million, but that’s expected to rise based on his strong performances over the last few seasons.
Marchand, 28, has a storied reputation as a pest in the NHL, but he’s also a dynamic offensive weapon for the Bruins. Too often his strong offensive skills have been overshadowed by him being a nuisance on the ice. According to Own the Puck, Marchand ranks as a first-line skater which illustrates the need for the Bruins to lock him up sooner than later.
