Worries growing over Boston Bruins' Brad Marchand's health after return on the ice
Many Bruins fans are concerned today after captain Brad Marchand took the ice for the first time in preparation for the upcoming season, and he did not look completely healthy.
National Hockey League insider Chris Johnston was at the Bruins' captain skate today where he got to see Marchand skate on his own for the first time this summer. He did caution fans by noting that he did not want to 'read too much into it,' but he admitted that it was fairly obvious that the 36-year-old winger was not skating at 100% of his capabilities. Furthermore, he was not pushing himself very hard, which makes sense considering the offseason he has had.
"I don't want to read too much into the captain's practice footage, but he wasn't moving completely free out there just yet. The further you get into your career, whether you're 29 or 36 or whatever it might be, it takes a little longer to heal, to recover, to get in shape and to find your best game. That's just the reality of sports and the age curve that we all deal with."
It was revealed earlier this week that the Bruins captain had undergone three separate surgeries to fix injuries that he was playing through last season. While none of the procedures appear to have been particularly major, the affects of them will certainly add up and catch up to an aging Marchand.
Some footage of Marchand skating alone was shared to X today at the captain's practice where fans can see for themselves how he was moving. While the season is a month away, it is concerning that he does not appear to be particularly close to 100% healthy. Then again, he is 36 years old, so like Johnson points out, it is expected that he would take a little longer to recover from injuries and offseason surgeries at this point in his career.
The big question is how he will perform when he is back to 100%. Will he still be as effective as he was last season, or will we see some decline in his game as a result of the surgeries and his age in general? We already saw a minor dip in his production last season as he sacrificed playmaking to score a few more goals. Will the overall trend of lower points production continue? If so, how will the Bruins make up for that? These are among the questions the Bruins will be asking themselves throughout the upcoming season as Marchand enters the final year of his current contract. Be sure to keep an eye on the Bruins captain to see how his legacy develops at this stage in his career.
Source: HockeyFeed
Brad Marchand looks less than 100% in return to the ice.
Brad Marchand looks less than 100% in return to the ice.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 8 | 306 ANSWERS Worries growing over Boston Bruins' Brad Marchand's health after return on the ice How many points do you think Brad Marchand will score for the Bruins next season? | ||
| <60 | 113 | 36.9 % |
| 60-70 | 117 | 38.2 % |
| 71-80 | 52 | 17 % |
| 81+ | 24 | 7.8 % |
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