Brad Marchand Agrees to 8 Year Extension in Boston
As you have probably heard by now, the Boston Bruins have extended leading goal scorer Brad Marchand for 8 years at $6.125 million per season. Marchand was set to become a free agent after this season, but Boston made sure that didn't happen. The deal runs through the 2024-2025 season, and locks up Marchand until he is 37. This was an extremely important deal for Boston to get done, and fans should be very happy that they did.
The Boston Bruins front office gets a lot of heat for making questionable moves, and rightly so. They have made a number of very bad decisions in recent years, with both Peter Chiarelli and Don Sweeney as GM. They traded away Tyler Seguin for basically nothing, overpaid players like Chris Kelly, Adam McQuaid, and Kevan Miller, and they can't draft. This move, however, does not fall under the bad category, actually it is a great one. First off, Marchand is one of the most important players on the team. He led the team with 37 goals last year and also plays an in your face style that fits the Bruins perfectly. Next, he's 28 years old and in the prime of his career. He scored 37 goals last year, and has a good chance of reaching 40 this season. Marchand has at least 5 more years of high productivity left before he starts to go the other way. Is Marchand going to be worth $6 million in the 8th year of this deal, probably not, but he will probably be worth more than $6 million during the first few years. Finally, the Bruins could not let Marchand hit the free agent market. This is not a guy that you want to play against. Had Marchand become a free agent, he could have signed anywhere, including Montreal, Pittsburgh, Toronto, or any other of Boston's rivals. He would surely have come back to bite the Bruins in the behind. Boston also got him to stay at a pretty good price. $6.1 million may seem expensive, but for a goal scorer like Marchand it is very reasonable. He probably would have gotten $6.5-$7 million in free agency, so to get him cheaper than that is very good.
Usually, the Bruin's front office is off making bad decisions. This case is different, however. They made a really good one. Brad Marchand, the team's best goal scorer locked up for 8 years at $6.125 million. Not bad, Sweeney, not bad.
