Brad Marchand isn’t in the NHL to make friends with the opponents of the Boston Bruins. He’s one of the NHL’s top pests, and he’ll do just about whatever it takes to irritate his opposition. That’s part of his job description and it has been since he broke into the NHL during the 2009-10 season.
He may have taken things a bit too far last night when the B’s took on the Vancouver Canucks last night though. As a trash talker himself, Marchand presumably leaves himself open to barbs when Boston is trailing. That might have been the case yesterday, and Marchand responded to Vancouver’s bench by kissing his ring finger…
And by lifting an invisible Stanley Cup…
All of this is clearly just a friendly reminder from Marchand to the Canucks. He seems to be saying “hey, remember that time we beat you guys in the Stanley Cup Final?”
Considering that the feisty forward has landed in some hot water with head coach Claude Julien in years gone by for his antics, it shouldn’t be too surprising that the bench boss wasn’t happy with his forward. DJ Bean of WEEI.com quoted Julien about the matter after the contest:
"He’s a good player, and he’s an agitator, and there’s some good things to that part of his game, but there’s certain areas where — again, I’ve said it before — you can’t cross the line. Sometimes his emotions get the better of him. We’ve worked with him and we’re going to continue to work with him. The perception it gives our organization is not what you want to see with those kind of things. Again, I don’t know what he said to you guys, but it’s certainly something we’re going to deal with."
Vancouver’s players weren’t too impressed by Marchand’s actions either.
Kesler on Marchand kissing his ring: "Obviously no class."
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) December 15, 2013