As the Bruins kicked off training camp Monday morning at Warrior Ice Arena in preparation for the 2020-21 season that begins next week, there was Brad Marchand in his normal spot to the left of Patrice Bergeron on the Bruins top line.
The only difference on Monday was Marchand’s jersey color—this time red as a non-contact participant. Marchand is recovering from an offseason surgery to repair a sports hernia.
While the plan is to ease Marchand back into things leading up to the Bruins season opener against the New Jersey Devils on Jan. 14, the hope is Marchand will be ready to go for the opener.
“I plan to be [ready], that’s what we’re shooting for. We don’t want to miss a game especially with a shorter season, that’s so important,… Marchand said Monday. “For me, today was just the first time I was able to skate with the guys for an extended period of time. It was a pretty good workload compared to what I’ve had. Last thing I want to do is get out there the first day of camp and get hurt.…
After years of being bothered by the issue, Marchand decided that enough was enough and made the choice to repair the issue surgically. It’s an issue that has bothered Marchand both on and off the ice.
“It was a longtime coming, it’s been two and a half years it’s been bugging me. It’s affected not only my on-ice, but off-ice training. I haven’t been able to sprint or run in years and initially it was my left side, my left groin, my left ab that was bugging me and then this past season it was both sides,… said Marchand.
“It got to the point where I was only able to play at 80%, I couldn’t take a full stride. A lot of times I was taking days off. I think in the playoffs I barely practiced because I needed every day off to recover, I was in a lot of pain and it bugged me every single day. It was an easy decision to do it, I was going to do it regardless no matter what happened this season. Having four or five months off, whatever it was, it worked out perfectly for me.…
Head coach Bruce Cassidy has enjoyed what Marchand has given the team at 80% and he’s looking forward to seeing what Marchand brings to the table once he’s back to 100%.
“He’s going to be a 20% better player hopefully for us then if that’s the case,… said Cassidy. “I thought he was pretty good for us at 80% and if this gets him a quicker recovery, or longer stride, whatever the issue was that he lost 20% off, then that’s the added benefit for him.…
Whether it’s in the season opener or in the few games to follow, when Marchand does get into game action, it’s likely going to be without David Pastrnak on his line. Pastrnak himself is also recovering from offseason surgery. Cassidy confirmed Monday Pastrnak will not be ready for the start of the season. However, Cassidy does not expect Pastrnak to miss much time.
In Pastrnak’s absence, rookie Jack Studnicka was given the first look on a line with Marchand and Bergeron.
Marchand was impressed by what he saw from Studnicks in the five playoff games he played in inside the NHL’s bubble over the summer.
“I really liked the way he played in playoffs. He’s a very talented kid, great kid off the ice. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do and watching him take that next step,… said Marchand. “That’s what we need—young guys to come in and perform and be big parts of this group. He’s one of those guys that is going to do it for us.…
The Bruins group is going to look a little different and much smaller this season as former captain Zdeno Chara is now a member of the Washington Capitals.
“Obviously this is the unfortunate part of hockey that you don’t like. You create such great friendships and go through so much together and then one day it’s over. We wish nothing but the best to Zee, he’s been an incredible teammate and leader,… said Marchand.
Despite the loss of Chara, the Bruins still have veteran leadership in Bergeron, Marchand and David Krejci. With Bergeron expected to be named the next captain before the season begins, Marchand mentions that it’s time for some of the younger players to step up and become more of leaders.
Could he mean Charlie McAvoy? Or Jake DeBrusk? Or even Matt Grzelcyk?
“It leaves the door open for other guys to move up and take that opportunity and do more. We have guys in this group that are going to need to take that next step. We have a lot of really good young talented players and guys that have a lot of experience and been through a lot of situations that we’re going to expect more of,… said Marchand.
“A guy like Zee you’re not going to replace with one guy, it’s going to be a collective effort and that’s what we want to do. Obviously we have some great leaders in the room and we have more guys that are going to come up. It didn’t take Bergy and Krech and guys like that overnight to become great leaders, but something you want to work on and we’re going to need those younger guys continue to work on that aspect of their game and be that piece that we’re going to lose with Zee leaving.…