By Joe McDonald
The Hockey News
BOSTON – This is new territory for Brad Marchand.
He’s known nothing but success for the majority of his 16 seasons in the NHL for the Bruins, but it has become unchartered waters for the captain. In the midst of a five-game winless skid, the reality of missing the playoffs is almost a certainty.
His future with the Bruins is uncertain as the March 7th trade deadline approaches. He could be better served agreeing to a trade to a Stanley Cup contender and the resigning with Boston during the offseason. He deserves another shot at the Cup. However, what he’s dealing with this season is uncharacteristic of the Bruins.
“We’ve missed the playoffs twice; it’s been a while and we’ve lost some big moments throughout my career, too, so the biggest thing is when you go through adversity it comes in all different ways and it tests your character. There are ways you try to find to work through it. The way you do that is as a group. At the end of the day you don’t always achieve every goal you’re shooting for, but that’s what builds great bonds and great friendships when you go through this adversity together and we’re doing that.
“This hasn’t been the season we’ve wanted and we haven’t had the success that we would like this time of year, but the good thing is we’re coming together over it. At the end of the day we may not achieve what we hope to this year, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t build for something greater and bring it back next year. We’re going to work every single day to continue to improve and build over game, claw and fight every single day to get into the playoffs. It’s a dog fight. These are the moments that, regardless how they turn out, you embrace them, enjoy them because every game matters. The intensity is high right now and this is what’s it’s all about and hopefully it goes our way.”
The Bruins culture is a real thing. It’s been that way for decades, but it has lost its value this season. As captain, Marchand is doing everything he can to follow his predecessors, including Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara.
“I try to keep the mood upbeat and that’s how I’ve always been,” Marchand said. “Sometimes you’ve acquired a group of younger guys and it’s about talking a little bit more and communicating more. I’ve learned this a lot from the older guys that I’ve watched and the teams I was on, they are the hardest working guys every day and it starts there.”