Brad Marchand: Dirty Player or just Misunderstood?

by:  Asad Bhatti

Brad Marchand was drafted by the Boston Bruins 71st overall in the 3rd round in 2006. He spent two years in the Bruins American League team before getting the call up to the pros. Marchand played 20 games in the 09-2010 season recording 1 assist and 20 penalty minutes. He then played 77 games the following season recording 41 points (21 goals and 20 assists) and 51 penalty minutes. Around this time Marchand was not considered a dirty player by the league. It has been in the past 3-4 seasons that Marchand has been labeled as a dirty player. I completely disagree with this statement because Marchand has changed his ways. Maybe two years ago Marchand could be seen as a dirty player but definitely not anymore.

Marchand was one of the biggest reasons the Bruin made the playoffs this season. He scored a career high 39 goals and added on 46 assists this season (85 points). However even though this was Marchand’s best season yet, he still was the source of discussion when it came to dirty play. On January 26, 2017 Marchand was fined by the NHL player safety association for slew footing (undercutting the other player and tripping him with his skate) Niklas Kronwall, a defenseman for the Detroit Redwings. Only days later Marchand seemed to have done the same dirty play to the Tampa Bay lightning’s Anton Stralman.  Marchand was not fined for this play.

The Boston Bruins are known around the league as a rough team. Playing for the Bruins, players already know that the rest of the league and a lot of its fans hate the B’s. Marchand may use to have been a dirty player two years ago, but Marchand has been able to change his style of play to being an offensive juggernaut. In my opinion the notion that Brad Marchand is a dirty player astonishes me. There are several players in the league who when you mention dirty players, they come to mind. Brad Marchand is definitely not one of them. Marchand was suspended two games for spearing at the end of the season (also against Tampa) for what most people saw as a clean play. Yet because Marchand has a dirty record, he was suspended two games for a clean accident.

I think that Brad Marchand is not a dirty player. The problem isn’t the player in the league, it’s the league that has a double standard where players who make the league more money are given less flexible rules. And out of the 40 or so games I watched this season, I feel Marchand was unfairly treated because of his previous record as a dirty player.