Brad Marchand details three-surgery offseason, future with Bruins amid contract year
"You need to re-establish every single year you come in that you're still right there and belong and these young bucks aren't going to take my job.”
Brad Marchand has crafted a potential Hall-of-Fame career out of defying the odds and skating with a sizable chip on his shoulder.
And the 36-year-old Bruins captain is adhering to that same mentality entering his 16th NHL season in 2024-25.
Even though the star winger has the “C” etched onto his sweater, Marchand acknowledged after Boston’s first captains’ practice of the new season that he enters each new campaign with the expectation that his spot on the depth chart is far from secure.
“I feel like as you get older — I’ve said this to a few people — I feel like you almost need to establish yourself like a young guy again,” Marchand said. “There’s so much talk these days about as you get older, you can’t play and teams don’t want or don’t like guys that are in their 30s or mid-30s, whatever it is. … As you get older, everyone’s trying to push you out.
“The young guys are trying to take your job and teams are looking to go young, and you almost have that same mindset, that you need to show that you can still play and keep up with the young guys and keep up with the new talent and the speed.
“So in some ways, I’m definitely a lot more comfortable coming in — understanding what it’s like, what’s expected — but in the same sense, you need to re-establish every single year you come in that you’re still right there and belong and these young bucks aren’t going to take my job.”
Marchand’s mindset might remain unchanged entering 2024-25, but his body hasn’t fallen in lockstep with that approach.
Boston’s captain acknowledged on Tuesday that he underwent three surgeries over the offseason to correct a torn tendon in his elbow — as well as address both groin and sports hernia issues.
As a result, Marchand — who has 1,029 games of NHL regular-season reps under his belt — admitted that he only started to ramp up his training two weeks ago.
“I’m just kind of getting back into it,” Marchand said. “I don’t know if you guys heard, but I was skating by myself. The goal is to be ready for camp and if not, very shortly after. I’m just kind of getting back into the swing of things now. I’m gonna hit it all head-on.”
Marchand, like just about every other NHLer, is no stranger to going under the knife during the summer. He underwent an invasive double-hip arthroscopy in the summer of 2022 — a procedure that he said saved his career as he trudged through a six-month recovery timeline.
Marchand ultimately returned nearly a month ahead of schedule during the 2022-23 season, scoring 21 goals and 67 points in just 73 games. The veteran admitted that he played through the torn tendon in his elbow for most of last season — with Marchand still posting 67 points over 82 games.
While a clean bill of health should help Marchand ahead of another 82-game gauntlet, playing catch-up at the start of training camp is not an ideal start for a player entering a contract year.
It’s unclear what type of new deal Marchand is looking for moving forward in Boston — especially if he is looking to follow in the footsteps of former captains like Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron by settling for short-term, bargain-bin deals to alleviate the team’s cap restraints.
But until both Marchand and the Bruins put pen to paper on a new deal, he stressed that you won’t hear any updates from him and his camp.
“I’m gonna say this now and kind of leave it at that; I won’t ever talk about contract stuff in the media,” Marchand said. “I saw a report the other day, I think it was the Hockey News. I don’t know where he’s getting his information. It wasn’t from our side. We’re not gonna talk about it. Whatever goes on will stay internal between (Don Sweeney) and our group. I’ll leave it at that. I think there’s enough respect between the two sides that we can deal with it.”
At this stage of his career, Marchand has already compiled a lofty resume. But even with the amount of wear and tear on his body, Marchand isn’t looking to hang up his skates quite yet — not with the Bruins poised to contend for another couple of years, and the 2026 Winter Olympics also looming.
“It’s very easy, especially as you get older and you’ve been around for a long time and accomplished a lot of things you want to accomplish,” Marchand said. “You feel comfortable in your financial situation to want to be around the house more, be with the kids, be involved in sports and activities and not be at the rink or the gym as often. That’s where guys slip.
“The biggest factor is understanding that guys are coming in and gunning for jobs. It doesn’t matter who you are. They’re just as happy to take my spot as anyone else’s.”
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