NHL Reporter Reveals Why Boston Bruins Failed to Extend Brad Marchand’s Contract

“We didn’t burn it down. We have a lot of guys,” were the words of the Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney after being criticized for trading their heart and soul player. The Bruins not only traded Brad Marchand but they sent him to a division rival. That’s unreal. Marchand wasn’t just another player—he was the player fans expected to see finish his career with the Bruins. But fate had other plans, and now the icon will don a different jersey, leaving Bruins fans grappling with a move that feels both shocking and heartbreaking!

Fans have been venting their frustration and pointing fingers at Sweeney for letting a franchise legend walk to a rival’s place. Now there are many questions surrounding their concerns, including why Florida was the destination, what exactly transpired in the trade negotiations, and what other details are yet to arrive! Well, as far as the internal negotiations that led to the trade are concerned, Emily Kaplan has got you covered.

The hockey reporter shared key insights into the decision-making process behind Marchand’s trade on her X account. She revealed that the Bruins had a three-year offer for Marchand in February, which would’ve made him a Bruin for life. However, disagreements over the Average Annual Value (AAV) stalled the deal; money was the primary point of contention! She said, “Management went to ownership. They got the OK to do a three-year deal, except there’s obviously a difference in perspective on AAV.”

She then inquired, “how could he end up at a division rival?” Well, she found that after the decision was made to trade him, the organization worked with him to facilitate a trade to a preferred destination. And, finally, Florida emerged as a logical choice, giving Brad Marchand a genuine shot at winning the Stanley Cup while allowing Marchand to stay close to his family—but also due to the presence of former Bruins personnel, such as Sean Thornton and Gregory Campbell, in the Panthers’ front office.

Boston’s ‘Little Ball of Hate’ was traded for a 2027 conditional draft pick. Besides him, Justin Brazeau, Marc McLaughlin, Brandon Carlo, and Trent Frederic were also shown the door. Fans, however, are fixated on losing their captain.

Their emotions are undeniable, and why wouldn’t they be when they lost the sixteen seasons’ countless memories? Indeed, all the accusations were directed at Sweeney, who not only let the captain, but a franchise legend, go like this.

What GM Don Sweeney had to say about Brad Marchand’s trade

In a clip shared on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Instagram profile, Don Sweeney was spotted sharing his side of things during a presser. He shared, “Just had a gap. Deep down, we had been talking really from day two, I think, of free agency in terms of what his intentions were and where we were at.” He then added how, despite an initial disagreement on the length of the extension, the Bruins had given the go-ahead on keeping Brad Marchand in the camp for as long as he wanted: “And we always had a bit of a term gap that took us a while and felt that we had been able to bridge that.” 

He also went on to hint at Marchand’s apparent demand for a higher AAV, which was more than what the Bruins were willing to dish out for a player nearing 37. “But again, a player is more than entitled to have an understanding of what they think their market value is and do what’s best for them,” he confessed, adding that he respects what a player believes to be best for himself and his family.

And so Sweeney, who had declared in February that keeping Marchand in Bruins for his entire career had been his “ultimate goal”, had to pull the plug in the interest of what he thought was best for the organization. He further explained, “We had to make a really, really difficult decision to say, ‘Well, let’s give Brad another opportunity with a really good team.”

What makes the trade even more difficult to digest for both the fans and the management alike is that with Marchand gone, only six players remain from that historic 65-win and 135-point regular season campaign from two years ag0—Charlie McAvoy, Pavel Zacha, David Pastrňák, Jeremy Swayman, and the recent acquisition Jakub Lauko. Boston fans, who will have to digest Marchand teaming up with Matthew Tkachuk, just can’t seem to catch a break!