Marchand/By S. Bradley
That he showed up in Boston for informal practices and even attended the Bruins’ charity golf tournament earlier this week even though he knew he’d have to field questions about his contract status everywhere he went was a sure sign Brad Marchand would get a deal done in a timely manner.
Now with training camp just two days from its official start, it appears that deal is done.
ESPN.com writer Pierre Lebrun cites sources today that confirm the Bruins have re-signed Marchand, a restricted free agent, to a two-year deal worth $5 million. That would still more than double his salary of a year ago, when he scored 21 goals as a rookie. Once this Marchand deal is official, the Bruins will have their 2011-12 team signed an intact for the start of their Stanley Cup title defense.
Will he still be a RFA at the end of this deal? If so, having control over after these 2 years is a great move by PC. I am assuming the length of the contract was the bigger issue. Dont get me wrong, love Brad and his game and the feistyness he brings to this team. Its smart to make sure that he didnt catch lighting in a bottle for his rookie season, but even smarter to have control of him if he takes off the next 2 years.
2.5 is a good deal for a 2nd year player of Marchand’s abilities. If he gets over 40 points (which I’m sure he will), it would look like a bargain for the Bruins.
Scott, you make good points about his junior and AHL numbers but you can’t factor that into his current status as an up and coming player.
Pouliot put up very big junior numbers and is now a fringe player. Marchand to his credit has continued to develop beyond those early years.
Good point about his agent Dave.
This guy is trying to be Scot Boras, but he’s just not that good.
It always seemed like Brad wanted to stay, so it shouldn’t have taken all summer to get to this number, it’s exactly what he deserves.
My bet is the Bruins had this or a similar offer on the table all summer, and offered to let the agent search the market. Guy couldn’t come up with anything better because at this time in his career that’s what he’s worth
That’s a fair deal. Now the pressure is on him to be a 20/40=60 guy. He’s got the right mindset. I don’t see a drop off. He’ll have his moments but that’s what you get with him. If he can build off last spring, who knows how many points he can get.
scott = chootzpah on the globe blog = brad’s agent or some relative or stalker…
http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/extras/bruins_blog/2011/09/brad_marchand_s_1.html?comments=all#readerComm
Yes, Scott, he has a good pedigree, but he is on a new playing field now, and teams will now take him as a more serious threat, thus defending him more closely. He needs to prove he can score despite that, like every player does.
Really happy he finally signed. He was a pretty good sport about this, and it looks like he signed for approx. fair market value. Wow, do I hate his agent.
Idiot above copied comments from Globe website!
It’s annoying when people say BM needs to prove himself. Aside from this season look at his bio:
2008-09: Played his first professional season with Boston’s AHL affiliate in Providence … Had 18-41=59 totals with 67 penalty minutes in 79 regular season games and added 7-8=15 totals and 26 PIM in 16 AHL playoff games … The 59 points were second among all AHL rookies and he was named the team’s top rookie …
Juniors: Played four seasons of junior hockey in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with Moncton, Val d’Or and Halifax … Had 102-146=248 totals with 319 penalty minutes in 245 career junior games …
Won a QMJHL championship with Moncton in 2006 …
Finished third in the Val d’Or scoring race in 2006-07 with career-high 33-47=80 totals …
Led the QMJHL in playoff scoring in 2007 with 16-24=40 totals in 20 Val d’Or post-season games …
Split the 2007-08 season between Val d’Or and Halifax and finished second in the Mooseheads scoring race with 73 combined points … Added 3-16=19 totals in 14 playoff games in 2008 …
International: Played for Team Canada in two World Junior Championships, winning Gold medals in both 2007 (2-0=2 totals and 2 PIM in six games) and 2008 (4-2=6 totals and 4 PIM in seven games).