After it was reported that David Pastrnak relayed to Boston Bruins’ head coach, Joe Sacco, that he was unwilling to play on the same line with Brad Marchand, the dynamic scorer refuted the report when speaking with the media on Friday. Likely in the hopes that these rumors about the Bruins’ two top stars don’t take on a life of their own, Pastrnak was quick to tell the media that he and Marchand are best friends.
In a social media post by Boston Globe reporter Jim McBride, David Pastrnak said: “I’ve never in my life said I don’t want to play with this guy to the coaching staff or management and I never would. I love playing with Marchy. I’ve been playing with him for so long.”
This came after Rich Keefe said on his radio show, “The locker room is a disaster, and David Pastrnak is at the center of that. David Pastrnak has told the team he doesn’t want to be on a line with Brad Marchand, and it may stem from Brad Marchand calling out Pastrnak for some of his play.”
Pastrnak added when talking about Marchand: “We’re best friends.” He then said that any insinuations otherwise are “not based in fact.”
Pastrnak Squashing Rumors Right Away
It didn’t take long for Pastrnak to respond to the rumors and do his best to put a stop to them. If he’s watching what’s unfolded in Vancouver, this was probably wise. The Canucks let that rumors of drama between Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller linger to the point that it’s all anyone can talk about in Vancouver and the issues have spilled over into the team’s play. At this point, it appears one of Pettersson or Miller could be traded.
If the Bruins take a unified stance and squash this speculation immediately, they can get out ahead of wherever this report came from.
