Brad Marchand suspended 3 games for slew-footing Oliver Ekman-Larsson

The Bruins will be without their top forward and arguably most valuable player for the next three games.

The NHL Department of Player Safety announced on Monday evening that Brad Marchand has been suspended for three games after slew-footing Canucks defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson during Sunday’s win against Vancouver.

The incident occurred at 1:08 in the first period — with Ekman-Larsson not injured as a result of the play and no penalty assessed. 

As a result of the suspension, Marchand will miss Tuesday’s home matchup against the Red Wings, Thursday’s road tilt against the Predators and an anticipated home bout with the Lightning on Saturday night. Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and, based on his average annual salary, Marchand will forfeit $91,875.00.

BSJ Analysis

Even though there was no penalty assessed on the play, it sure seemed like Marchand was going to be staring at a suspension of some sort entering Tuesday’s game due to the Department of Player Safety requesting a hearing on the matter.

But I have to say, a three-game suspension is pretty surprising — and spells bad news for the Bruins. 

Considering that Marchand’s last suspension came all the way back on January 2018 following an elbow to the head of Devils forward (and later Bruins teammate) Marcus Johansson, it’s been some time since the B’s winger has found himself in the crosshairs of the league. 

However, as the Department of Player Safety’s video notes below, Marchand’s lengthy list of offenses during his earlier years absolutely came into play here. 

Marchand has now been suspended seven times in his career for 22 total games — and fined another five times. Prior to Monday’s verdict, Marchand faced discipline twice already as it pertains to slew-footing — sitting two games for tripping up Derick Brassard in 2015 and earning a $2,500 fine for slew-footing Matt Niskanen in 2011.

Here is the full list of Marchand’s prior suspensions:

March 17, 2011: 2 games for elbowing R.J. Umberger
Jan. 9, 2012: 5 games for low-bridging Sami Salo
Jan. 15, 2015: 2 games for slew-footing Derick Brassard
Dec. 29, 2015: 3 games for clipping Mark Borowiecki
April 5, 2017: 2 games for spearing Jake Dotchin
Jan. 23, 2018: 5 games for elbowing Marcus Johansson
Nov. 28, 2021: 3 games for slew-footing Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Even though Marchand’s rap sheet might have been the primary factor that influenced the league’s ruling here, Bruce Cassidy said Monday morning that he didn’t believe that the play in question warranted severe punishment. 

“There was nothing called in the game. They can revisit certain incidents. The precedent, for the most part, this year has been a fine if they feel that’s deserving of it, so I guess we’ll see what happens there,” Cassidy said. “I thought it was two guys tangling, battling for a puck. They got tangled up and (league) will have to decide. You see a lot of those in the game. They’re typically along the boards than in the open ice, but I’ve seen a lot of it this year. 

While Bruins fans are likely quick to point out that severe punishment was not handed out to Devils defenseman P.K. Subban this year despite getting fined twice for a pair of dangerous tripping calls against Milan Lucic and Trevor Zegras just eight days apart — Marchand’s track record is what ultimately swings this decision in favor of a suspension. 

.... so PK Subban did the thing again. Called for a ~trip~ on Milan Lucic pic.twitter.com/IXvF91dnmY

— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) October 26, 2021

As for what the Bruins do moving forward — well, there’s no way to necessarily sugar-coat the impact of losing Marchand for any amount of time. 

Sunday’s comeback win was a prime example of just how vital Marchand is to this club — and without him serving as the primary offensive conduit at 5v5 play and on the man advantage, the B’s might be really laboring for offense in the coming days. 

It’s brutal timing for Boston, especially with another measuring-stick game on the horizon against the Lightning this Saturday.

Here’s a potential lineup for Tuesday night as Boston looks to solider on without Marchand for the time being. 

Hall-Bergeron-Pastrnak
DeBrusk-Coyle-Smith
Foligno-Frederic-Kuhlman
Haula-Nosek-Lazar

Cassidy could also very well switch Pastrnak and Smith around in order to achieve more balance — with both DeBrusk and Haula set to re-enter the lineup after getting scratched on Sunday.

Still, whichever way you slice it — Monday’s news stands as a massive setback for a Bruins team that is still looking to build some semblance of momentum.