Elliotte Friedman, an NHL insider, and Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand have unexpectedly emerged as the primary characters in the best soap opera of the early season. Marchand, 36, is in the final season of his eight-year, $49 million contract and will become an unrestricted free agency in July.
After the Sportsnet pundit initially reported a tight agreement between Marchand and the Bruins, the veteran forward chastised Friedman, calling his report “false,” causing the insider to respond in the third chapter of this story. Friedman addressed Marchand’s recent public denial of his story on contract discussions with the Bruins on Monday’s episode of the “32 Thoughts” podcast, having hinted at the accuracy of his report on X on Saturday. On Monday, Friedman recognized that Marchand is the most reputable source on the subject.
“If he says at this point in time that I’m wrong or the story is false, then I just have to eat it because he knows where things stand,” Friedman told me. While the insider confessed he may have missed crucial details, he also hinted that the ongoing talks between the Bruins and Marchand will still result in an agreement. “I don’t believe talks have broken off between the Bruins and Marchand,” Friedman told reporters. “On Sunday morning, someone told me, ‘If you’re going to be incorrect on this one,’ implying that they believe I’ll be wrong on the term.
“He thinks that the Bruins would prefer two years instead of three.” The insider initially suggested that Marchand and the Bruins were negotiating a three-year contract deal, but the Bruins captain quickly denied the claim. The veteran forward has begun the 2024 season with six points in nine games, and while Friedman may have missed the target on contract length, the insider is hopeful that a new deal for Marchand is still in the works.
Given Marchand’s 16-year tenure with the club, it’s understandable that no one would be surprised.
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