Hockey

“Not Ruling Out Anything”: Bruins Weigh Marchand’s Future Amid Growing Trade Interest

Published: Feb 27, 2025, 3:21 PM
1 min read
Updated: Jul 24, 2025, 11:30 AM
Fact checked by:
Sergey Demidov
With the Devils and Capitals joining the mix, Brad Marchand’s future in Boston remains uncertain

With the Devils and Capitals joining the mix, Brad Marchand’s future in Boston remains uncertain (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

While the Boston Bruins and captain Brad Marchand remain adamant in their desire to work out an extension, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney is still keeping his options open.

Multiple NHL sources have confirmed to RG that while Sweeney is not shopping his 36-year-old captain, he’s not changing the conversation when the veteran winger’s name comes up.

“Let’s just say he’s not giving an immediate ‘No!’ or ‘Next!’ when they ask what it would take to get Marchand,” one NHL executive source said. “He’s making it clear their first choice is to sign him, but he’s not ruling out anything, and if he did, he wouldn’t be doing his job. It’s a tough spot for [Sweeney] for sure, but this is the reality of where the team and player are right now.”

The Bruins general manager addressed the media this past Sunday and maintained his desire to sign Marchand, who can become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career on July 1.

“That’s always been my ultimate goal,” Sweeney said when asked if he still wants Marchand to be a lifelong Bruin.

“We've been negotiating with Brad and communicating with him throughout the year. We'll have to have a conversation now that the 4 Nations is over, sit down with Brad and his representatives, and have a clearer path in the next two weeks as to what his final outcome will be.”

As another NHL executive opined to RG on Tuesday, the fact that Marchand’s path isn’t ‘clear’ with the March 7 NHL Trade Deadline rapidly approaching confirms what the aforementioned source said above.

“Don is clearly leaving his options open, and that little tidbit right that signals that,” the source pointed out. “Do I think the Bruins may announce that they’ve extended [Marchand] by the time your story goes live? Yeah, that’s a strong possibility, but these are murky waters for the Bruins and Sweeney. They know they need to reload, and Sweeney’s job security could depend on how he does that. If he can start that reload with a good return on a guy in the final stretch, he has to consider that.”

Marchand maintains that his goal remains to stay with the only team he’s known since entering the NHL in the 2009-10 regular season.

“I’ve always planned on playing here my entire career. That hasn’t changed,” Marchand told the media after practice this past Monday. “They’re aware of that. I think everyone’s aware of that. It’s a gift to be playing for this team, and I take a tremendous amount of pride in that. It’s always been the goal.

“We’re obviously in talks. I feel like I understand where I’m at personally, but again, that’s going to stay between us.”

What if a team like the Colorado Avalanche gave Sweeney an NHL trade offer he couldn’t refuse though, and Marchand suddenly had a chance to win another Stanley Cup and do so with his friend from his native Nova Scotia, Nathan MacKinnon, whom he just won the Four Nations Face-Off with for Canada?

“If Sweeney tells Brad that the reality is that a Cup run may not come in Boston for at least the next 2–3 years, then he [Marchand] has to think about that, no?” an NHL source rhetorically asked RG.

Back on Feb. 11, as the Four Nations Face-Off was getting set to begin in Montreal, RG reported that the Avalanche, the Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild, and Dallas Stars were all believed to be expressing interest in Marchand, and this same source above claims two more teams have been poking around on the 2011 Stanley Cup champion.

“New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals are in there, too,” the source said.

So, with just over a week until the NHL Trade Deadline, both the Bruins and Marchand would love to stay together, but an amicable parting of the ways still remains an option. 

NHL Reporter
James Murphy is a veteran sports journalist with 25 years of experience covering the NHL, NCAA and CHL, including two decades on the Boston Bruins beat. His work has appeared on NHL.com, NESN, ESPN Boston and more, and he’s made regular TV and radio appearances on NESN, ESPN, TSN and SiriusXM. A familiar face in the hockey world, Murphy has covered multiple Stanley Cup Finals, NHL drafts and playoffs, and now co-hosts The Eye Test podcast with Pierre McGuire, interviewing top NHL executives, coaches and players. He joined RG in 2024 after stints with Boston Hockey Now and LiveBarn.
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James Murphy
James Murphy
NHL Reporter

James Murphy is a veteran sports journalist covering the NHL, NCAA and CHL hockey for RG.

With 25 years of experience covering the Bruins, the NHL, NCAA, CHL and more, Murphy has seen it all when it comes to hockey. His hockey black book is filled with Hall of Famers, current players, coaches, management, scouts and a diverse array of hockey media personalities who have lived and worked in and around the game. Murphy also currently co-hosts The Eye Test podcast with Pierre McGuire and, along with McGuire, interviews NHL owners and executives, as well as NHL and NCAA head coaches and players daily.

The Arlington, Massachusetts, native began his writing career in hockey in 2001, when the Boston Bruins raised one of his childhood idols, Ray Bourque’s No. 77, to the rafters before their 2001–02 season opener. For 22 of his 25 years as a hockey reporter, Murphy covered the Bruins daily, including their victorious 2011 Stanley Cup run and their runs to the 2013 and 2019 Finals, multiple NHL drafts and countless Stanley Cup playoffs. He did all that for the Boston Metro, NHL.com, NESN.com and ESPN Boston.

In addition to his print work covering the Bruins, Murphy also made regular TV appearances on NESN, Fox 25 Boston, ESPN and NHL Network. From 2008 to 2012, Murphy hosted The Hockey Primetime Show on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio and made numerous appearances on national and international radio shows.

Ironically, his three years not covering the Bruins were spent covering their archrivals, the Montreal Canadiens. From 2012 to 2015, Murphy was based in Montreal and covered the Canadiens for NHL.com and TSN.ca. He also appeared regularly on TSN 690 radio and CTV.

Murphy returned to Boston in 2015 and left the media business to work in sales and marketing for LiveBarn, a Montreal-based sports streaming company, for four years. In 2019, Murphy once again became a Bruins beat reporter, this time writing for Boston Hockey Now. He spent four seasons working for BHN before arriving at RG in 2024 and also dedicated more time to The Eye Test podcast.

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