The Boston Bruins were the biggest sellers at the trade deadline and their most surprising move was trading captain Brad Marchand.
The Bruins dealt Marchand to the Florida Panthers for a conditional second-round pick. It was a stunning move as Marchand is a fan-favorite, but he and Boston couldn’t agree to an extension so the Bruins traded him.
According to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, a deal was likely after a face-to-face meeting happened between the front office and Marchand. At the meeting, the front office wouldn’t budge on their contract offer, which forced the trade.
“Where I think things really went sideways was there was a point this week where Brad Marchand asked for a face-to-face meeting with Bruins management,” Friedman said on Saturday Headlines on Sportsnet. “I don’t know exactly when it was. I don’t know exactly who was there. But it did happen, and in that meeting Brad Marchand asked for a compromise. He said ‘I will compromise, I will bend on some of my ask. I’m asking the Bruins to bend on some of their stance. And we’ll find a way to get this deal done,’ because he wanted to stay as a Bruin.
“It just didn’t happen. The Bruins had gone as far as far as they were willing to go… I think (Marchand) was really stunned by that… I think it really hurt Marchand that the face-to-face meeting couldn’t get a deal done,” Friedman added.
Marchand has spent his entire NHL career with the Bruins and helped the team win the Stanley Cup in 2011.
Bruins GM Discusses Difficult Decision on Trading Marchand
Although Friedman said Marchand tried to get a deal done, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said the gap was too big.
After realizing a deal wouldn’t be made, Sweeney says they made a difficult decision to trade Marchand so he can chase another Stanley Cup.
“Just had a gap,” Sweeney said. “Deep down, we had been talking really from day two. I think, of free agency in terms of what his intentions were and where we were at. We always had a bit of a term gap that took us a while and felt that we had been able to bridge that. But again, a player is more than entitled to have an understanding of what they think their market value is and do what’s best for them. And I have to always respect that…
“Then we had to make a really, really difficult decision to say, well let’s give Brad another opportunity with a really good team. Then he can make his decision what he thinks is best moving forward,” Sweeney added.
Marchand had spent 16 seasons with Boston.
Bruins Star Forward Crushed by Trades
Boston were sellers at the deadline, trading Marchand, Brandon Carlo, and Charlie Coyle.
After the trades happened, Boston star forward David Pastrnak says he was crushed to see the deals happen.
“It’s been very tough, emotional, and sad,” Pastrnak said. “Personally, I lost three very close friends and it’s a very tough pill to swallow. We not only lost big leaders on this team. But great human beings. Guys with families that I was really close to and I’ve been here since Day 1 with them.”
Boston is 29-28-8 and well outside of a playoff spot.
