The Boston Bruins had a busy offseason trying to sign their star goalie Jeremy Swayman to a new contract. It took far longer than expected, but the Bruins and Swayman eventually agreed to the terms of a deal.
With Swayman signed for the long-term, the Bruins turned their attention to their captain who is in the final year of his contract. Brad Marchand said before he would never speak publicly about his negotiations, but things appear to be moving along nicely.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on Saturday Headlines, Marchand and the Bruins are nearing an extension.
“The word is that the Bruins and Marchand are getting closer on an extension,” Friedman said. “Expected to be three years.”
Another three years would take Marchand to his age 39 season, and likely make him a Bruin for life.
Not only are the two parties making progress, a deal could be done in the very near future.
“We’ll see what happens in the next little bit,” Friedman said. “The word is they are getting closer.”
Marchand was originally a third-round pick (71st overall) of the Bruins in 2006. He made his NHL debut during the 2009-10 season and has gone on to play 1,038 NHL games, all with Boston.
In that time, Marchand has scored 402 goals and 533 assists for 935 total points. A three-year deal will likely seal him as a career 1,000-point scorer.
Marchand was part of, and a key contributor to the Bruins 2011 Stanley Cup team. It was his first full NHL season and in 25 games played in that playoff run, he scored 19 points (11G-8A).
Through nine games of the 2024-25 season, Marchand is off to a bit of a slow start with just a goal and four assists. He isn't far removed from multiple offseason surgeries, so he should find a nice groove soon.
Ahead of the 2023-24 season, Marchand was named captain of the Bruins. The four-time All-Star is looking to add at least one more deep playoff run with a strong Bruins team before he calls it a career.
