MARCHAND RESPECTED AS DESERVING ALL-STAR

Marchand earns respect, All-Star nod

LOS ANGELES — The question wasn’t even out before Michel Therrien broke into his familiar throaty laugh.

So, the Montreal Canadiens coach was asked, what it is going to be like coaching well-known Bruins irritant Brad Marchand in today’s NHL All-Star Game?

“Well, you know what? He’s a guy in the last two years who has really impressed me,” said Therrien, once he stopped chuckling. “First of all, he still plays with an edge. And I think he has to play like that. But you look at what he did for Team Canada, winning the gold medal, it’s pretty impressive. You grow as a hockey player. We’ve had some battles, Montreal-Boston. We’ve had some rivalries with our hockey club, but the one with Boston has been pretty special over the years. You build a rivalry in the playoffs and we’ve played them so many times.

“It’s going to be fun (coaching Marchand). First of all it’s a privilege, for coaches as well as the players, and it gives the players and coaches an opportunity to get to know each other instead of always fighting.”

The appreciation of Marchand’s skill level has never been higher. After scoring a career-high 37 goals last season, he pulled off a spectacular star turn for Team Canada at the World Cup of Hockey, where he could have, and probably should have, been named the MVP instead of Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby. With four goals in his last two games to keep the B’s season afloat, Marchand is currently ranked fifth in league scoring.

Marchand’s All-Star status is no fluke.

“Good for him,” former linemate Tyler Seguin of the Dallas Stars said. “His career is just getting better and better it seems. It’s been getting (better) in Boston, then at the World Cup and now he’s here at his first All-Star Game. It’s well deserved.”

So is Marchand’s reputation as a pest who sometimes crosses the line of being feisty to being dirty. He has been suspended four times and fined twice in his career. And lest anyone forget, Marchand kept it fresh in everyone’s memory when he clipped Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall from behind with a dangerous trip last week. He was very fortunate to escape with just a fine from the league.

Don’t hold your breath on his ever changing, some say. It is who he is.

“And I don’t think he wants it to be fully changed,” Seguin said. “When he’s on his game, he’s got that agitating side to him and I think he thrives on it.”

The Philadelphia Flyers’ Wayne Simmonds played with Marchand on the 2008 world junior team for Canada that won gold.

“Marchie’s always been the same player,” Simmonds said. “He was on our first line with Claude Giroux (Flyers) and Kyle Turris (Ottawa Senators). He’s always been that guy who’s probably always been told he’s not going to make it because of his size. But then you look at him and he’s probably one of the toughest guys in the league.

“Just the way he plays the game, I always try to hit him and he never goes over. I’m probably the one that’s falling over trying to hit him. He’s got great skill and great attitude.”

The Nashville Predators’ P.K. Subban, who had great running battles with Marchand when the defenseman was with the Canadiens, had nothing but good things to say about the rival player — at least in the benign atmosphere of All-Star weekend.

“The perception I have of Brad is that he’s a great player,” Subban said. “He competes hard. He’s one of those guys you want on your own team. My perception has always been the same. He’s a great player, he plays hard and he gets under your skin. That’s what makes him such a great player. He’s an impactful player in the game.”

And along with the skill comes the sandpaper.

“That’s what makes him what he is, right?” Simmonds said. “You never want a guy to change who he is. He may be a little of a pest, but he definitely backs it up with his play.”

But a player can Therrien.

“You can’t change your personality,” Therrien said. “It’s part of the package, not only for (Marchand) but for every player. If they want to have success, they can’t forget about their personality. This is where the player gets his motivation. You can’t lose your personality, but every player matures. I coached Crosby as a young kid at 18, 19 years old and he was really emotional. But still, he’s never lost his personality as a hard-working guy and a dedicated guy. A player can’t lose his personality.”

As the suspensions and fines keep adding up along with the points, there doesn’t appear any danger of that with Marchand.