Brad Marchand puts Bruins in a brutal spot with his ill-timed outburst, 6-game suspension

Less than three months ago, Brad Marchand strode up to the podium at Warrior Ice Arena, shortly after the NHL levied a three-game suspension against the divisive star forward.

For as much as Marchand’s past is littered with on-ice transgressions that warranted six total suspensions and five fines, the 33-year-old winger was candid in his late November address when it came to his efforts toward cleaning up his game. 

All things considered, Marchand made a pretty compelling argument.

Before the NHL handed him that three-game suspension for slew-footing Oliver Ekman-Larsson, he had not incurred the wrath of the Department of Player Safety in nearly four full years.

After expressing remorse following Boston’s 2018 playoff push for his licking antics against both Leo Komarov and Ryan Callahan, Marchand more or less walked the walk when it came to cleaning up his act, diverting more of his focus on his game-breaking skill instead of his knack for being a fly in the ointment.

So when the NHL still went ahead and suspended him for his incident against Ekman-Larsson — an incident that didn’t warrant a penalty and didn’t harm the Vancouver defenseman — Marchand’s frustration was evident.

Still, even Marchand was cognizant of the unfavorable position that he’s put himself in when it comes to his standing across the NHL, especially in disciplinary circles up in the league’s office. 

Even a few years entrenched as arguably the league’s top left wing was not going to suddenly wipe out all of the red in Marchand's ledger from his early days in the league. And like it or not, the disruptive forward will always have a target on his back whenever the league needs to open up its rulebook.

“I have tried extremely hard over the last four years to get away from the reputation I’ve had, I think I’ve done an extremely good job at that,” Marchand said back in November. “I know early on I crossed over the line a lot of times, and it’s unfortunate that it continues to haunt me. It’s 310-plus games, almost four years of good, hard — I mean, I play hard, there’s no question, and I compete.    

“But I am no longer the player that I was, and that I felt like I had to be in order to establish myself. So I was hoping at this point that they would’ve seen past what’s gone on before that. … I feel like I’ve completely transformed myself from the player I was to a player that should be respected in this league for his abilities.”

Fast-forward to Tuesday night — and the Marchand we saw in the closing minute in regulation sure looked an awful lot like the Marchand of yesteryear.

Talented? Yes. Passionate? No doubt. But hampered by an inability to shut things down when he goes “red brain”, as the Bruins call it. 

These days, the Bruins would prefer Marchand continues to stake his claim as one of the premier 200-foot forwards in the league, serving as the team’s offensive sparkplug and passionate leader.

With that comes the tolerance that on-ice hijinks come with the territory with a perpetual pest like No. 63. 

But what the B’s can’t tolerate is the type of outburst that Marchand put forth against Pittsburgh on Tuesday, with Marchand blowing a gasket and striking Pens netminder Tristan Jarry twice in a game that was just seconds from mercifully ending.

For Marchand, who’s already well aware that the league is looking for any opportunity to drop the hammer on him, losing his cool in such a manner was unacceptable. And while some might be irked at the NHL slapping Marchand with a six-game suspension — again, just look at Marchand’s rap sheet and put two and two together. He needed to be much better. 

“I talked to Brad this morning ... about how he's under a microscope a little more than others,” Bruce Cassidy said. “And he has to keep his discipline and keep his emotions in check — yet still be that player that drives us. I mean, what makes Marshy, one of his best attributes is his passion for the game and his second, third, fourth, fifth effort. 

“A couple times, that's got the best of him. And we have to try to do what we can to keep that in check. But once he's on the ice, that's something that hopefully he's able to better recognize situations and get away from them if he feels he's getting all red brain. That's a term we use — versus blue brain. Hopefully this is the last one.”

Of course, losing a player of Marchand’s caliber for any extended stretch is a brutal break for a Bruins team that, while boasting some breathing room between them and teams out of the playoff picture, could be treading water over the next few weeks. 

But for Marchand — now an established leader and franchise cornerstone in the room — to lose it at this juncture in the season? It’s an awful look, especially when you look at the state of the roster around him.

By the time Marchand attempted to knock Jarry’s block off, the Bruins were likely aware that Tuukka Rask was not going to be part of the equation anymore. Just minutes prior, Patrice Bergeron exited the game with an upper-body injury, with his status in question for at least the next few games. 

But instead of switching to “blue brain” and walking away from whatever Jarry and the Penguins were stirring up, Marchand put himself in a position in which the league was more than happy to throw the book at him. 

Now, the Bruins are going to have to trudge ahead without both Marchand and Bergeron for a brutal slog of the season — starting with Thursday’s showdown against the Hurricanes. During Marchand’s time on the shelf, the B’s will battle a number of contenders, be it the aforementioned ‘Canes, Rangers and the Avalanche. After Thursday’s contest, the Bruins will play 10 of their next 11 games away from TD Garden — their lone home contest being that walk-in-the-park matinee against Colorado. 

Not great, to say the least. 

“Brad is remorseful,” Don Sweeney said Wednesday. “Feels he's letting his team as well as himself and everybody (down). He didn't shun the fact that he was immature in what his decision was in allowing his emotions to control himself in that situation. He can't (rewind) it at this point in time. The damage has been done. 

“And we got to move forward. But hopefully he can ease it. If you look at his accomplishments, specifically the last four to five years, they're pretty good. He's had a couple of transgressions here recently that have hurt him and his history has hurt him even more."

When the time comes to look back on Marchand’s legacy years from now, plenty of fans will fondly point to his repeated antics on the ice: using Daniel Sedin’s face as a speedbag, throwing Robby Fabbri into the B’s bench, etc. 

Marchand would likely prefer to be remembered for his drive that elevated him from fourth-line grinder to franchise star, his postseason heroics in that 2011 Cup run, his numerous charitable efforts off the ice and a whole lot more commendable, on-ice accolades.

But when it comes to his efforts to rehabilitate his image and legacy, selfish actions such as the one put forth on Tuesday night aren’t doing Marchand any favors.