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Last week, Brad Marchand played his 1,000th career NHL game, and it got me thinking, is Brad Marchand a Hall of Famer? After some quick research, I concluded that he should be a first ballot future Hall of Famer and here's why.
Marchand is one of eight players to have played 1,000 games for the Bruins. Players to have accomplished this include Ray Bourque, Patrice Bergeron, and Zdeno Chara just to name a few.
In the 2010-11 season, Marchand hit the 20-goal mark for the first time which carried into the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs. In the Stanley Cup Final against the Vancouver Canucks, Marchand played all seven games scoring five goals and two assists.
From there, Marchand began to have an excellent career. Every season, you could feel as if you can count on him. Marchand is now in his 14th full season with the Bruins and has scored 20 or more goals in 13 of them.
He is currently three goals away from 400. The only players to have more goals than him since the 2010-11 season are Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos and John Tavares, and that's not all. He currently leads the Boston Bruins with shorthanded goals (35) and leads overtime game-winning tallies (19).
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However, we must address the elephant in the room, and that is Marchand's reputation for his dirty play style. He has more suspensions (eight) than any other player in NHL history, has missed 28 games, and has paid more than $1.4 million in fines. These suspensions were caused by low bridging to punching and slew footing on an opponent (twice). Another incident includes spearing Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry, and that was two years ago.
Marchand is still at the top of his game in his mid-30s, and it does not look like he plans to hang up the skates any time soon. I think Marchand is a Hall of Famer like Chara and Bergeron. You can’t forget about Marchand because he has played a critical part in his time with the Bruins.
The real question is, does he get his number retired by the franchise? The Bruins have 12 retired numbers, an honor reserved for only the best of the best. Time will tell, but it is possible that one day number 63 is in the rafters when all is said and done.
Have an opposing viewpoint to this opinion? Let us know. All views are welcome. Send your thoughts to our Editorial Staff – Editor Dylan Hicks dhicks@student.dean.edu or Dean Daily Faculty Advisor, Professor John Rooke jrooke@dean.edu
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