There are many moves the Boston Bruins could make in the off-season.
One could argue none is bigger than signing goaltending Jeremy Swayman to a long-term deal and they wouldn't be wrong. Locking down a steadfast goaltender to a deal that is both team (and player) friendly, is a paramount of any organization, but another important piece is leadership.
One player who both has both exemplified leadership in the past, and continued to into this past season was forward Brad Marchand.
With one year left on his current deal, Marchand has been a member of the Bruins his entire career, and in General Manager Don Sweeney's end of the year press conference, he said that he wanted to make sure the Halifax, Nova Scotia native remained with the Black and Gold for the rest of his playing days and sign him to an extension this offseason.
How does this deal make sense for the team?
First things first, when examining this deal, you have to look at how it benefits the team. Boston has over $23 million in cap space going into the off-season, and while this isn't a free agent deal, it might as well be looked as one since it will have an impact on the team's spending longterm.
In a twisted turn of fates too, it also helps the Bruins when you look at Marchand's age. Marchand is 36-years-old, quite old in hockey years. While Marchand did play all 82 games in the regular season, for only the second time in his career mind you, but this shows how reliable he can be for a team that so craves reliability.
With a cap hit of only $6,125,000 going into the final year of his deal, that number is bound to be a bit lower given his age. Chances are, Marchand takes a hometown discount to stay too, but he most likely won't have to take much of a discount to stay given his reliability.
How does this deal make sense for Marchand?
Now, the real question is, why does this make sense for Marchand? Why wouldn't he go somewhere else?
The reality for Marchy is that, following next season, there is not much of a market for a 37-year-old winger elsewhere. So he will be staring down playing in Europe to close out his career, playing in Boston for a few more years, or retriring and the first one is really not something I could see happening.
Marchand has, at least on the surface, seemed to love every minute of playing in Boston and even said so back in 2022 saying he would stay even if Bergeron retired, which of course he did following the 2022-23 season.
A Marchand extension should be a priority for the Bruins this offseason, how long and how much money is the only thing up for debate right now. The only thing standing in both sides' ways right now, is whether or not he decides to retire following next season.