Brad Marchand with some bitter comments on missing the Olympics
Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins is not happy about not being able to go to the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February, and he's letting everyone know it. Marchand was interviewed on Boxing Day where he was asked about the league and players' decision to withdraw from the Games.
"Very disappointing. That's something that was promised as part of the CBA when we last signed a deal. Almost felt like they were trying to get out of it for a while, and they didn't want us to go," said Marchand.
"I know at the end of the day, they don't care about the Olympics, they don't make money on it. And that's ultimately what this is — it's a business. And we're an asset. Let's just call a spade and spade," he added.
Marchand says he understands the league doesn't want players getting hurt at the Olympics, but he insists it should be up to the players whether they want to go.
"It's the Olympics, it's the best of the best," Marchand said. "If you've earned the right and the opportunity to go there, you should have the option to go play."
The official reasoning behind the league withdrawing from the 2022 Winter Games is due to the number of NHL games that have had to be postponed due to COVID-19. What was the Olympic break will now be used to make up for lost games. However, Marchand said he firmly believes players should have the option for what might be a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Marchand has represented Canada on the international stage several times, winning World Championship, World Cup and World Junior Championship gold. However, he has never played at the Olympics and, at 33, this was likely his last chance to do so.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Kyle Connor | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Alex Tuch | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Owen Power | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Michael Bunting | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Drew Helleson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jirí Kulich | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Isac Lundestrom | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Vladislav Namestnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nino Niederreiter | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Gabriel Vilardi | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jason Zucker | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Leo Carlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ross Johnston | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Evgeni Malkin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Morrissey | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Cole Perfetti | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Bryan Rust | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mark Scheifele | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Trevor Zegras | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 19 | 16 | 3 | - | 32 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||