USA TODAY International Edition
Marchand making mockery of himself
Bruins forward Brad Marchand owns a Stanley Cup championship ring and three consecutive seasons with at least 34 goals. Twenty months ago the big story at the World Cup was Marchand playing like the perfect winger for Sidney Crosby.
Today, he looks like a goofball who gets his kicks from getting his licks in, and not the way the Broad Street Bullies used to do it.
When Marchand came nose-to-nose with Lightning forward Ryan Callahan on Friday in the NHL Eastern Conference semifinals series, Marchand leaned in and licked him on the face.
What makes this story stranger still is that Marchand is a repeat licker. He licked Maple Leafs forward Leo Komarov in the first round.
Is this what Marchand wants for his NHL legacy? Nothing lasts forever except YouTube videos.
The first time we can maybe pass off the licking as a bad joke gone awry. The second necessitates immediate action.
No statute in the NHL rules specifically addresses a penalty, or punishment, for licking an opponent, because who in the heck would ever believe you would need one.
But the NHL formally admonished Marchand for making a mockery of the sport. The NHL said Saturday afternoon that league executive Colin Campbell spoke with Marchand and Bruins general manager Don Sweeney. “The League put the player on notice that his actions last night are unacceptable and similar behavior in the future will be dealt with by way of supplemental discipline,” the NHL tweeted.
In one of his team’s most important games, Marchand behaved childishly at the very least.
Is this any less juvenile than a 9year-old spitting on his hand before he goes through the handshake line in a Pee Wee hockey game?
The shameful Marchand licking act has to be as unsanitary as spitting on someone’s face. In most workplaces, an employee would be fired or face severe repercussions at the very least, if he or she licked a fellow employee.
This Marchand sideshow is an embarrassment for everyone. Marchand might believe he’s being helpful to the Bruins by trying to dig under the skin of his opponents. But I don’t believe his Boston teammates condone the strategy he has employed in trying to accomplish this.
If the NHL can’t find the right statute to end this ridiculous, immature behavior, then it’s up to the Bruins management, coaches and teammates to confront Marchand.
I’d be surprised if it hasn’t happened already. His teammates don’t want to answer questions about how weird this situation is. The Bruins would be intervening with Marchand for his own good. He is an elite talent, a proven goal scorer, a feisty competitor, a valuable player for his team. He does cross the line sometimes in his physical play, but that’s a column for another day.