Boston Bruins: Brad Marchand Lighting The Lamp
Brad Marchand has scored at least 20 goals in each of his first five full-seasons. His first NHL exposure came in the 2009-10 season when he skated in 20 games for the Boston Bruins, notching one assist and failing to find the back of the net in that time. It’s important to note that a player must dress in 25 games in a season to be classified as a rookie. Following that season, Brad Marchand made a promise that absolutely shocked then-general manager Peter Chiarelli. The young left winger looked Peter Chiarelli in the eye and made a promise that he would score 20 goals for the Boston Bruins in the 2010-11 season.
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“I said ‘Brad, are you serious? Think about what you’re saying,’” Chiarelli said “He says ‘Yeah. I’m going to get you 20.’ I said ‘Alright, I’ll hold you to that.’ And he did.”
Brad Marchand went on to score 21 goals in his rookie season en route to a Stanley Cup victory. The following year Brad Marchand improved his goal total to 28 goals showing the Bruins’ management team that he wasn’t a fluke and that he wasn’t going to succumb to the “sophomore slump”. Marchand’s third season came during the lockout-shortened season during the 2012-13 season, a season that he scored 18 goals and added 18 assists in only 45 games. Marchand’s next two seasons resulted in 25 and 24 goals respectively, leading to the 2015-16 season.
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Brad Marchand is currently on pace to score 38 goals. No Bruin has been able to score anywhere near the 44 goals that Glen Murray scored during the 2002-03 season, and nobody has been able to score even 35 goals since Phil Kessel scored 36 times during the 2008-09 season. It seems unlikely that Brad Marchand will continue to score at this rate and hit the 38 goal mark, but passing his career high of 28 and even hitting the 30 goal mark for the first time in his career are two milestones that are definitely within reach for the Bruins’ left winger.
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With seven goals over his last seven games as well as at least one in each of his last six, Brad Marchand has shown that when he gets hot, he’s nearly unstoppable. No player has been able to light the lamp as consistently as Brad Marchand has over the last six years, and with one year remaining on his contract after this season, the Bruins would be wise to extend him at the earliest possible opportunity.
Follow Brandon Share-Cohen on Twitter @BShareCohen to discuss all things Bruins and sports