Brad Marchand made his debut for the Boston Bruins in the 2009-2010 season. That year, he only had one assist in 20 games. Only one assist! In 20 games!
Anybody who thought that Marchand would be anything more than a fringe NHLer at that point was crazy.
Fast forward 10 years, and Marchand, at age 31, looks nothing like the 21-year-old we all saw in 2010.
Marchand currently sits third in the NHL with 37 points. He has 15 goals and 22 assists so far for the Bruins.
This builds off last year’s 100 point season, which built off two straight seasons of 85 points. Marchand’s been nothing short of spectacular for the Bruins during that stretch.
What do you get when you combine that offensive production with Marchand’s defensive game, mix in a bit premium puck possession, and pepper in some elite agitation? You get the best two-way player in the NHL.
Marchand produces at an elite level
Ask any hockey fan to name you the best wingers in the game, and you’ll hear the same names over and over again. Alex Ovechkin. Nikita Kucherov. Patrick Kane. You’ll probably hear a full lineup of skaters until Marchand’s name comes up.
Yet, over the past three seasons, Marchand outproduced virtually every winger in the game.
No winger, left or right, has more points than Marchand’s 37 this year. Last season, only Kucherov and Kane had more than Marchand’s 100.
Two years ago, only five wingers scored more points than Marchand. Those players were Kucherov, Taylor Hall, Phil Kessel, Blake Wheeler, and Ovechkin.
What’s different with Marchand, however, is that he averages less ice time than most of these wingers. That has to factor in when we consider his production relative to everyone else.
If we look at points per 60 minutes, Marchand outscored every winger over the past three seasons. In fact, Connor McDavid is the only player with a higher average.
Consider this as well: a significant chunk of Marchand’s ice time comes shorthanded. Players like Kucherov, Kane, and Ovechkin never kill penalties.
On top of that, Marchand usually isn’t Boston’s first option on the power play; that spot goes to David Pastrnak.
To compensate for this, we can look at even strength points per 60 minutes. Marchand not only leads all wingers; he leads all players in this stat!
So, when you factor in ice time and special teams, Marchand looks like the highest-scoring winger in the NHL. And scoring isn’t the only part of his game.
Marchand is more than reliable defensively
Think of all the wingers who compete with Marchand in the scoring race. How many of them are elite defensively? How many of them are even reliable defensively?
None of them, expect for Kucherov at times, kills penalties or does anything noteworthy on the defensive-side of things. Some wingers like Ovechkin often don’t spend much effort on defense at all.
Marchand, however, remains reliable on the defensive end. Coach Bruce Cassidy isn’t afraid to put him out against tough matchups, and this usually pays off.
Last season, Marchand was on the ice for 59 goals at even strength. How does that compare to other high-scoring wingers? Let’s look at the numbers:
- Kucherov: 67 goals against
- Ovechkin: 80 goals against
- Kane: 93 goals against
Kucherov is the only one who is remotely close to Marchand, and even he was on the ice for eight more goals last season.
A lot of Marchand’s success on the defensive end has to do with his linemate and best-friend Patrice Bergeron. Bergeron is the best defensive in the league, and maybe the best of all time. Nonetheless, Marchand does hold up his end of the bargain.
And to add to his defensive prowess, Marchand is an elite penalty killer who’s always a threat to score. He had three goals and four assists when the Bruins were man-down last year.
No winger in the NHL combines offense and defense like Marchand. Honestly, no winger really comes close. Right now, Marchand leads all wingers in scoring, and even if someone catches up, he won’t match Marchand’s defensive skills.
So here we are: 10 years into Brad Marchand’s career, and he is the best two-way winger in hockey. If he keeps this up for another five to seven years, he might be a Hall of Famer believe it or not.
Remember when I said people 10 years ago had to be crazy to think Marchand had a good career ahead of him? We all were crazy…crazy to not realize the type of player we had in front of us.