Brad Marchand (Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images)
Hockey Hall of famer Mark Recchi knows a true pro hockey player when he sees one and once he got a full dose of Brad Marchand he knew the Boston Bruins captain was that and more.
“Well, I thought he was a little fireball,” Recchi told RG when asked recently what his first impression of the Boston Bruins superstar winger was.
Recchi, who won the Stanley Cup three times as a player (Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins) and twice as a player development coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017, saw the passion and desire in Marchand when the Bruins’ 2006 third round (71st overall) pick made his NHL debut late in the 2009-10 season. That was Recchi’s first full season with the Bruins after he was dealt to Boston prior to the 2009 NHL Trade Deadline.
“You could see his compete level was really high,” Recchi recalled. “Obviously, being new, I didn’t know much about their prospects and he came up at the end of that one year, and you immediately saw his drive and how he wanted to be a player and how competitive he was.”
Marchand had one assist in 20 NHL regular season games to finish the 2009-10 season. Recchi, who scored 577 goals and had 956 assists in a 1652-game hall-of-fame career, liked that early glimpse of the 5-foot-9, 176-pound winger, but he still needed to see a little more.
“The first time he came up, yeah, like I said, I saw his fire, and I saw his passion, but at the time, I was like, ‘well, can he do that consistently, and can it translate into a successful career?’ But, Not Surprised By Marchand's Career then he made the team the next season (2010-11), and I could tell that short stint when he came up the season before was just nerves because when he came up that next year in training camp, he took off and he was on his way,” Recchi recalled.
“That’s when I really knew he was going to be a star.”
Marchand has become just that. He helped lead the Bruins to the 2011 Stanley Cup, and also to two more Stanley Cup Finals in 2013 and 2019. He’s appeared in six NHL All-Star games and has 401 goals and 528 assists in 929 regular season games and 56 goals and 82 assists 157 Stanley Cup Playoffs games.
Marchand is also the most suspended player in NHL history, surrendering more than $1.4 million in salary over the course of his potential hall-of-fame career. He has been suspended eight times and fined nine other times. Recchi and former Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron recognized early on that the edge that made Marchand’s game so great could also become his downfall and did their best to reel him in.
Recchi believes Marchand’s burning passion for the game led the pesky superstar to become the captain of the Boston Bruins last season.
“He had leadership qualities early on,” Recchi pointed out. “He held himself accountable and wasn’t afraid to do so to others. You could see it in him, and as he grew up playing with guys like ‘Bergy’ and ‘Zee’ [Zdeno Chara] and the core group he always had around him, he absorbed all that and then applied it on and off the ice. Look at him now. What is he doing training young prospects and being there during player development camp.
“He continues to lead by example and competes every shift. He practices even harder, and he makes sure everyone does the same, I’m sure. He’s leading the way as always.”
As he praised the current Bruins captain, Recchi made an interesting comparison when asked what prior teammate was similar to Marchand.
“Size-wise but heart-wise, you know, I’d say Saku Koivu,” Recchi said. “Obviously, they had very different personalities, and Saku was a center but overcame their size with their competitive spirit, leadership, and tenacity. Also, they’re both so skilled.”
Marchand helped give Recchi his third Stanley Cup ring in his final game as an NHL player on June 15, 2011, and to Recchi, Marchand will always be a gamer to him. Recchi assisted on the first of Marchand’s two goals in that game.
“Well, the final game says it all, really,” Recchi said. “He and Bergy were unbelievable, and it showed you everything about their character and embracing the moment. That was just incredible, and he’s a big part of that Stanley Cup win.”
With 24 years of experience (SiriusXM NHL Network Radio, ESPN Boston, NESN, NHL.com, etc.) covering the Bruins, the NHL, NCAA and junior hockey, and more, Jimmy Murphy’s hockey black book is filled with Hall of Famers, current players, coaches, management, scouts and a wide array of hockey media personalities that have lived in and around this great game. For 22 of his 24 years as a hockey and sports reporter, Murphy covered the Bruins on a daily basis, including their victorious 2011 Stanley Cup run and their runs to the 2013 and 2019 Finals. Murphy is currently a co-host, along with Pierre McGuire, on The Eye Test Podcast.
