Bruins and Brad Marchand Nearing 3-Year Extension?

Elliotte Friedman noted on Saturday’s Headlines report that Brad Marchand and the Boston Bruins have not only begun contract extension talks, but they might be close to finalizing a new deal that would see him stay for another three seasons.

** Update: Friedman tweeted after Marchand was asked about the report that the forward has denied it. Friedman writes, “Marchand said the following report was false. We will see how things play out.”

Friedman joined the FAN Hockey Show earlier this weekend to explain why he’d be surprised if something didn’t get done contract-wise between the Bruins and Marchand. They do want him to stay, but he did note that the team was being cautious with term. Injuries and age is something the team was cautious of.

It’s not clear if the news of a deal has anything to do with the bench incident between Marchand and head coach Jim Montgomery, but it can’t hurt. While the media tried to make a story out of what was a non-issue between the two, an extension would certainly put any speculation of an unhappy Marchand to rest. Marchand told the media this week that people were being too sensitive about the incident and that it would have been a bigger problem if Montgomery hadn’t addressed Marchand’s mistake that almost cost the Bruins a goal against.

He said:

“It’s unfortunate how coaches are scrutinized over things like that. There’s a lack of unaccountability nowadays because people can’t handle the heat. You make a mistake like that, you deserve to hear about it.”

Marchand Doesn’t Want to Go Anywhere

It is said that the Bruins’ captain identifies with being a life-long member of the Bruins and has no desire to go anywhere else.

What he’s looking at in terms of an annual average salary was not revealed by Friedman. Marchand is playing in the final season of a contract that pays $6.125 million per season. He has never made more than that per season, despite being one of the top performers on the team for nearly a decade. He could actually be looking at a similar number, even though the expectation is that he might take a team-friendly deal.

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