Hockey Latest has no direct affiliation to the NHL or NHLPA
NHL analyst John Buccigross discusses Brad Marchand's messy contract negotiations with the Boston Bruins
Photo credit: Jess Starr - The Hockey Writers
This afternoon a new report from NHL analyst John Buccigross has provided insight into Brad Marchand's contract negotiations with the Boston Bruins.
The 2024-25 NHL season has been very turbulent for the Boston Bruins with the team firing their head coach Jim Montgomery earlier this season.
The Bruins have been unable to find the regular season dominance that they are used to having over the last decade.
This lack of success for the Bruins has created a discussion regarding the future of the Bruins and whether the team could begin a rebuild in the near future.
One player the Bruins need to decide what to do with is captain Brad Marchand.
Over the last decade, Marchand has been one of the faces of the Bruins organization but is now in his age 36 season and on an expiring contract.
With that said the Bruins and Marchand have been in contract negotiations this season but have not agreed to a contract of any kind.
Earlier this season a report from Elliotte Friedman indicated a contract extension was close to keep Marchand in Boston for three seasons but that report was quickly shut down by Marchand himself.
Now this evening a report from John Buccigross has revealed that the two sides still seem far apart as the negotiations have picked up in recent weeks with the season marching on.
Marchand and the Bruins remain at odds over contract extension
According to ESPN analyst John Buccigross, the Boston Bruins and Brad Marchand are seemingly still far apart on a contract extension both when it comes to years and dollars.
Buccigross believes the Bruins likely want a shorter deal around two years while Marchand wants more of a long-term guarantee especially considering other players on the Bruins like Elias Lindholm have been given those guarantees and underperformed.
My guess is the Bruins want 2 years max. I would give him 3 years, 6 million AAV. I think that's 'the deal.' The Bruins probably want 2 years at 4-5 million. Maybe Marchand is like 'how can I make less than Lindholm? He has 18 points. I'm the second best player on the team.' And he'd be right.
Marchand likely feels that he has given the city of Boston and the Bruins organization plenty and taken several team-friendly deals on the road to competing for Stanley Cups.
Now that the Bruins seem destined for less on-ice success it makes sense that Marchand would begin prioritizing his own interests as a condition to stay in Boston.
As the season continues we will follow along with Marchand's contract status and future with the Boston Bruins.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 26 | 110 ANSWERS NHL analyst John Buccigross discusses Brad Marchand's messy contract negotiations with the Boston Bruins Do you think Brad Marchand will end up signing an extension with the Boston Bruins? | ||
| Yes | 78 | 70.9 % |
| No | 32 | 29.1 % |
| List of polls | ||