Subscribe
Follow Us
Saying it was a challenging offseason for Boston Bruins star forward Brad Marchand would be a huge understatement. The B's captain underwent three separate surgeries over the summer, and there were rumors that the 36-year-old wouldn't be ready for the start of the 2024-25 campaign.
But the Stanley Cup champion was a full participant in practice on Wednesday, which is huge considering he donned a noncontact jersey in his first action with the rest of the team the day before, per NHL.com's Joe Pohoryles.
“It feels good to be out there without a noncontact jersey and be part of full practice,” Marchand said after the skate, per Pohoryles. “Hopefully as things progress here, [I'll] get into a couple games by the end of camp and feel good for the season.”
Marchand had surgeries to address ailments in his elbow, groin and abdomen during the summer, which is why he missed the beginning of Boston's training camp.
“The fitness level feels fine. It's more the pace of bodies coming at you and timing, making plays under pressure,” the captain continued. “You normally have two to three months to practice that. … So, getting that back is a little bit off right now, but every day I feel conditioning is catching up.”
The Bruins will head on the road to face off against the New York Rangers on Thursday and the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday as the preseason continues. It's not yet known if the Nova Scotia native will be in the lineup for either of those tilts.
But, as things stand, it looks like he'll be ready when the team takes on the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in Sunrise on October 8.
Brad Marchand had a down season in 2023-24
Despite playing a full 82-game slate last season, Marchand struggled to produce at the clip he usually does. He added 29 goals and 67 points in the regular-season; he managed the exact same amount of points in 73 games in 2022-23.
Before that, Marchand had enjoyed six straight seasons at above a point-per-game clip, including the best year of his career in 2018-19 when he exploded for 100 points in the regular-season and another 23 in 24 playoff contests. The Bruins came within one victory of capturing the championship that year, losing in heartbreaking fashion to the St. Louis Blues on home ice in Game 7.
Still, he was fantastic in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs — like usual — potting 10 points in 11 games as the Bruins took the powerhouse Panthers to six games in Round 2.
Despite that, it was one of his worst offensive seasons in nearly a decade, and that could have been due to the multiple ailments that were hindering him.
“I did my arm last summer, was kind of playing with it throughout the year,” Marchand told NHL.com's Amalie Benjamin at the beginning of September. “I decided if it continued to aggravate me in the summer that I would get it done. The other two I did [with] a month left in the season. They kept bugging me into the summer, so I figured I’d get them taken care of.”
Now entering his 16th season with the Bruins, it'll be interesting to see how productive Marchand is in 2024-25.
