The Bruins played a hockey game Tuesday night, skating to a 2-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. A bad, yet very boring loss. However, that was the least eventful news coming out of Boston in the last 24+ hours.
To say things on Causeway Street aren’t going too well is quite the understatement, their loss to Detroit further driving that point.
Let’s break it all down:
Brad Marchand suspended; speaks on behalf of Russia:
It’s been a whirlwind of a few days for Brad Marchand.
It started last Friday when Rangers’ forward Artemi Panarin threw his glove at him, continued into Sunday’s victory over the Canucks where he put the team on his back, bled into Monday when he was suspended three games for a slew-foot on Canucks’ defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and concluded Tuesday when Marchand met with the media.
It was there that Marchand revealed what he said to Panarin, apparently letting him know how his native country of Russia feels about him.
“I said that no one in Russia likes him,” Marchand said. “So, if that is now what is setting guys over the edge, then this is the softest league in the world and nobody should be allowed to say anything because there’s a lot worse things said out there than that. So, [if] that’s what he’s crying about, then it is what it is.”
Marchand also addressed his suspension. I do think three games is a bit much for this incident, but I totally get it. I know the “repeat offender” thing goes out the window after a certain amount of time passes without incident, but Marchand will never be able to elude his reputation.
“I have tried extremely hard over the last four years to get away from the reputation I’ve had. I think I’ve done an extremely good job at that. I know early on I crossed over the line a lot of times. It’s unfortunate that continues to haunt me,” Marchand said.
He’s no doubt a different player than he was in the early stages of his career, but people in the National Hockey League don’t forget, they know what he’s done in the past and no number of goals and assists will change that.
“You can look at my stats, I think I’m third behind (Connor) McDavid and (Leon) Draisaitl in statistics [since the 2018-19 season],” said Marchand. “I feel I’ve completely transformed myself from the player I was to a player that should be respected in this league for his abilities. I understand completely the history that I have. I just was hoping they would have seen past that. Obviously, that wasn’t the case.”
Jake DeBrusk asks for a trade; plays against Detroit
Jake DeBrusk’s name circulates through trade rumors year-after-year. But on Monday DeBrusk’s agent went public revealing that he’s formally asked the Bruins to trade his client. On Tuesday, general manager Don Sweeney confirmed the report.
“I’m not overly surprised that this eventually came out,” Sweeney said. “I’ve been in the know [about] this for quite some time. We’ve been trying to look at hockey trades that would help the Boston Bruins.”
With DeBrusk once again a healthy scratch on Sunday, the timing of this information is no surprise. There’s no denying DeBrusk has talent, it’s in there. He just needs to be able to consistently showcase that talent.
As much as the Bruins and DeBrusk wanted things to pan out, it’s clear that this is the best for both parties. DeBrusk needs a fresh start, and the Bruins need to wipe the slate clean.
The awkward part of this situation is that DeBrusk was forced to re-enter the Bruins lineup last night. With Marchand suspended, Anton Blidh injured and COVID issues preventing anyone from Providence being called up (more on that below), DeBrusk skated on the fourth line in the Bruins loss to Detroit.
He addressed the team before the game.
“He just said, ‘I love you guys. This is something in my career that you know I’m at a crossroads,’ and he’s gonna have to do. But he’s not a distraction at all,” said Taylor Hall. It’s almost better that it’s out there, you know, you have a day to kind of digest that and Jake’s a great kid. We expect Jake to play as well as he can, even under the circumstances.”
It sure sounds like Tuukka Rask will be back
Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark have been fine, there not the reason why the Bruins have struggled through the first two months of the season. But neither has yet to take the bull by the horn and push further ahead than the other guy in the competition.
“They’ve been okay. They both have had really, really strong pockets of games, and other times where they haven’t played as well as they would like in some situations,” said Sweeney. “And we have higher expectations for everybody. So, I don’t think Linus and Jeremy would say it any differently than I am.”
As Tuukka Rask continues to rehab from off-season surgery, he’s begun to get back on the ice, doing so at Warrior Ice Arena, you know, the practice facility of the Bruins. On Monday, Bruins goalie coach Bob Essensa and skills coach Kim Brandvold ran Rask’s session, physical therapist Scott Waugh watched from afar.
If Rask wasn’t in the Bruins future plans, do you think they'd be using their resources on him?
“If indeed he is healthy and wants to play, then he’s likely to be a part of our group,” Sweeney said. “I think there’s been a general understanding that Tuukka has to make a decision on his health, first and foremost."
Rask is still on track to return sometime in late January to early February. So if he does want to continue his playing career and the Bruins do indeed want him back, what does that mean for Swayman and Ullmark.
Of course, the Bruins could carry three goalies, but how much sense does that make? You have a young and upcoming goalie in Swayman that you certainly want to see go through the ups and downs of a hockey season, closely watching how he handles that. Then, there’s Ullmark, your off-season acquisition in goal, one that cost you $20 million over four years.
COVID causes issues
Assistant coach Joe Sacco led the charge behind the Bruins bench on Tuesday, as head coach Bruce Cassidy was placed into the NHL’s COVID 19 protocol. Cassidy is vaccinated and was showing mild symptoms.
Assistant coach Chris Kelly was placed into protocol last week.
If Cassidy did indeed test positive, NHL rules will force Cassidy to self-isolate for 10 days after a positive test. Cassidy was on the ice at practice on Monday.
The Bruins travel to Nashville Thursday, host the Lightning on Saturday and will leave for western Canada next Tuesday, beginning a three-game trip in Vancouver on Wednesday.
With issues both on their roster and behind the bench, Sweeney said the Providence Bruins were dealing with some COVID related issues of their own and because of that, the Bruins were unable to bring any bodies—both players and coaches—up from Providence.
Sacco was the Colorado Avalanche head coach from 2009-2013, 295 games in total.
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