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Growing up, I used to be a fan of the old Mutual of Ohama's Wild Kingdom television program on NBC with Marlin Perkins and Jim Fowler. In one program, they showed a clouded leopard stalking its prey. Narrator Perkins noted that the leopard's fur was well-camouflaged in its familiar terrain where it hunted. In his folksy way, Perkins then repeated the old saying that the leopard couldn't change its spots so, when out in the open, the small leopard species was more likely to flee from the same animals that would be prey if drawn into its turf.
In another program, they showed a python in the process of shedding its skin, noting that its behavior was particularly unpredictable and aggressive because it felt threatened and vulnerable. The snake, although less active, was as dangerous as ever.
Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand, supposedly evolved from a "super pest" to a "super star", is very much still a snake at heart. I suppose at 5-foot-9, he feels like he's the vulnerable one. And much like the small-but-stocky clouded leopard, the undersized Marchand is at his "bravest" when he's camouflaged but takes evasive action if he's out in the open.
Marchand's MO was, is, and will always be to strike through dirty stickwork (spearing, butt-ending, slashing) or else to slew-foot opponents and "innocently" skate away. He has become further emboldened, quite frankly, because the NHL's Department of Players Safety has passed the puck on suspending him for multiple recent incidents -- given today's salaries, fines are a joke and not a deterrent -- including a pair of slew-foot plays.
Last night, Marchand was nabbed for spearing Tampa Bay defenseman Jake Dotchin in the groin; one of the most despicable and cowardly acts imaginable. Unlike Sidney Crosby, who got away with it, Marchand received a major penalty and game misconduct (all the while protesting his "innocence").
Back when I was officiating, the game's sneakiest players like Marchand disliked me. I would tell them beforehand that, regardless of their scoring stats, I saw right through them and knew what they really were -- and there was no one that I was afraid to sit in the penalty box or back in the dressing room as was merited. There was no such thing as star treatment with me on the ice: everyone got equal accountability and everyone received equal protection.
In my own playing days, I detested stickwork artists and sneaks far more than any fellow enforcer that I ever fought. When I donned the stripes, I understood that the real menaces weren't the guys who dropped the gloves. It was the stick-and-run guys.
To me, a player like Marchand is selfish and gutless. Even with his gaudy offensive numbers this season, he is a diminishing returns player. Why? Because he's shown that he can't be trusted. He's shown that when the chips are down, he'd still rather do a drive-by -- spear a guy and skate off or kick his legs out from under him -- than focus on winning the game. Where is his commitment to placing the team first? He doesn't have it.
Time and time again, Marchand has just about dared DOPS to make him accountable. The Bruins are still in a dogfight with Toronto to finish third in the Atlantic Division and stay out of the lower wildcard spot, which would mean a first-round meeting with the Washington Capitals rather than a series with the Ottawa Senators. While anything can happen in the playoffs, and the Sens are just as capable of beating the Bruins as the opposite, a first-round meeting with Washington is the more daunting possibility right now.
Boston's season was in dire jeopardy of missing the playoffs just a few weeks ago, but they have admirably pulled things together. DOPS can't worry itself with that. Marchand needs to sit the remainder of the regular season -- I'd sit him a playoff game, too -- and he also needs to apologize (and mean it) to the leaders on his team, because he put himself first. Unfortunately, I don't think Marchand is capable of genuine remorse nor would he hesitate the next time to do something that puts his team down five minutes and short a player.
For those reasons, he's not someone to be trusted. Not by the league, not by the refs, and , most damning, not even by his own teammates or coaches.
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Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the first American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games.
Today, Stewart serves as director of hockey officiating for the ECAC.