Brad Marchand admits he needs to 'cut that s--- out'

The Boston Bruins cleaned out their lockers Wednesday, three days after the team was bounced from the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Naturally, one of the main talking points was Brad Marchand and his inability to control his antics on the ice. Both the league and the Bruins organization had to intervene at points this spring, requesting that he stop with the shenanigans.

Thankfully now it seems he’s gotten the message.

“I’ve got to cut that [expletive] out,” the agitator told Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic. After his latest stint, which involved him licking Lightning forward Ryan Callahan, Marchand seems to be changing his tune on some of the extra-curricular aspects of his game.

This is an extremely talented and effective player. Over the past two regular seasons, only Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov, and Sidney Crosby have accumulated more points than Marchand. However, the Bruins’ All-Star has a proven track record of crossing the line. He’s earned himself six suspensions over the course of his NHL career, including a five-game ban this season for an elbow to the head of Devils’ forward Marcus Johansson which cost him $373,475.61.

It depends on your point of view. But, in many respects, the serial licking is almost as disgusting as his suspendable acts. While he did not put the Lightning forward’s safety at risk, he certainly did cross a line of what is just and what is not in the game of hockey — and society, for that matter. The warning directed towards Marchand from the NHL was well warranted for his actions.

Marchand’s offensive production and value to the Bruins on paper have made him an MVP candidate over the past two years. It is his actions which negatively impacts Boston and often pushes him out of the lineup, limiting the good he does.

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