Brad Marchand to appeal 'steep' suspension; Bruins might have dodged bullet with Grzelcyk

Brad Marchand was not going to attempt to sugarcoat his actions on Tuesday night.

Yes, the dynamic winger’s fiery passion is what allowed the 33-year-old forward to rise up the NHL ranks from fourth-line forechecker to all-world talent. But in the aftermath of trying to knock Tristan Jarry’s block off in the final minute of Tuesday’s loss to Pittsburgh, Marchand was more than willing to take the blame for the ugly optics he presented.  

"It was a situation that arose, and I reacted very poorly. It really doesn't matter what started it. In that situation, I obviously have to be much better controlling my emotions and not reacting that way," Marchand said on Friday. "Yeah, was it stupid? Of course, it was stupid. I'm not denying that. I absolutely should not have done it.”

What Marchand is willing to push back on, however, is the amount of time that he’s currently set to be on the shelf. 

“Suspension-worthy? I don't think so,” Marchand added. “That's where, in the moment, if I would've thought I'd get suspended, I wouldn't have done it, especially if I thought I was gonna get six games. That's part of it that gets tough sometimes, to know where the line is when it changes for each player and each night."

Granted, as we noted in wake of Marchand getting slapped with his six-game suspension, it sure seems like the line has been pretty easy to spot for a player with Marchand’s rap sheet. 

But Marchand sure seems to disagree with the length of the sentence — as the NHLPA announced on Friday evening that it will appeal Marchand’s extended suspension. The first appeal will be to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, with the possibility of an independent arbitrator stepping in.

Of course, even if this appeal manages to cut down Marchand's suspension by just a game or two, it’d be a major lift for a Bruins team destined for some tough sledding ahead.

Much as he did during his last post-suspension media scrum — held after earning a three-game sabbatical for slew-footing Oliver Ekman-Larsson — Marchand expressed frustration over the league not taking into account his string of good behavior from 2018-21 (with no discipline from the Department of Player Safety during that stretch) when the time came to dole out punishment for the Jarry incident. 

"They don't measure progress, which I've come to find out," said Marchand. "It goes back to the last (suspension). That's where I really found it out. We believe that the last suspension was very hefty when I got three games - should've been one. Based on the fact that I've turned my game around, pretty good player in this league. 

“But again, you're not gonna escape the history part of it, which ultimately set me up for this one. Again, I'm not gonna say or justify that what I did was right. But this was a very deep suspension for these actions.  These plays were not going to injure Jarry. There was gonna be no potential injury on that play. He was very well protected. The fact that it's six games - again, it's based on history, not on the play. That's where, again, they make decisions based on the way they see it. We feel it was very steep."

Does Marchand have a valid argument? You could certainly make the case that the veteran forward, while still having a knack for pestering the bejesus out of opponents on the ice,  has seriously cleaned up most of his act, especially when compared to his early days in the league.

But let’s be frank: a player with Marchand’s history is absolutely not going to be given the benefit of the doubt when it comes to drawing the ire of George Parros and the Department of Player Safety — especially on an ugly sequence like the one Marchand put himself in on Tuesday. 

Marchand has the right to be frustrated, sure. But a lot of that frustration should be focused internally in wake of another costly decision out on the ice. 

"I know the player I am in this league and for this team," Marchand said. "The last thing I want to do is let my team down the way I did in this situation. I lost my cool. There's no question about it. I've been pretty good about doing that for the last number of years. It was a really stupid decision on my behalf, and it did hurt the team and it will hurt the team moving forward. That's not something that I wanted to do.  

“Whether we feel the suspension is just or not, I put myself in that situation and the team in that situation. I've got to continue to work on being better and work on my game. I have for a long time now. It's not something that changes in a day or a week or a month. It's something that you've got to continue to work on."

Grzelcyk practices on Friday

Well, in a week chock full of misery, the Bruins managed to at least get a sliver of good news on Friday morning.

Despite exiting Thursday’s blowout loss to the Hurricanes with what looked like a severe upper-body injury, Matt Grzelcyk was back on the ice in a regular practice sweater for Friday's skate at Warrior Ice Arena. 

Considering how severe the injury looked last night, the Bruins have to be relieved that Grzelcyk was already back on the ice Friday, especially without a non-contact sweater. However, Cassidy did note that there’s no guarantee that Grzelcyk will be cleared for Saturday’s matinee game against the Senators. 

If Grzelcyk isn’t ready, Jack Ahcan will slot into the lineup after getting recalled on Friday. 

"I don't know if he'll be ready or not," Bruce Cassidy said of Grzelcyk. "He went out early, he felt like he could practice. We had a good practice, so he got tested. Hopefully that's a good sign and yes. But I don't want to say for sure. That's why Jack [Ahcan's] here."

Granted, even if Grzelcyk is ruled out for Saturday’s game up in Canada, the Bruins have to be considering themselves lucky if Grzelcyk only misses a short stretch. 

Odds and ends

Jeremy Swayman will get the start in net for Boston on Saturday afternoon.

Even though Patrice Bergeron has already been ruled out for Saturday, Cassidy did note that the B’s captain was at Warrior on Friday and rode the stationary bike. However, he has not resumed skating quite yet. “I don't know if he'll skate [back in Boston on Saturday]…could be the next step,” Cassidy said of Bergeron.