The NHL suspended Bruins forward Brad Marchand six games for an incident (slashing and punching) Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry. If this doesn’t constitute throwing the book at Marchand, the frequently-suspended star-pest at least got hit with a few pages.
This marks the longest suspension of Brad Marchand’s pesky, productive career.
The NHL deemed it “roughing and high-sticking.” You can watch the league’s explanation in the video above.
By Adam Gretz’s count, this is the eighth time the NHL suspended Marchand, and the 11th case of league discipline (with three fines).
Frankly, it’s easy to lose track of the number of incidents he’s been involved in. After all, there are the actions that draw fines and suspensions, but also a whole lot of other nonsense.
Just imagine if the NHL did something about rampant licking.
Sometimes, Marchand gets away with borderline stuff because of the system, luck, or it being the playoffs. Time and time again, the Bruins put up with the bad because of how great a player Marchand is. But they’ll need to be without that great and agitating player for six games, and may miss Patrice Bergeron for a while, too, due to an injury.
Tough news day for the Bruins, who also saw Tuukka Rask retire.
Bruins’ Marchand suspended six games for incident with Penguins’ Jarry
During the game itself, Marchand received a match penalty for intent to injury Tristan Jarry.
It was the most heated of the exchanges between Marchand and Jarry, which also included this odd moment of trolling.
Brad Marchand didn't let Tristan Jarry give a puck to a Pens fan in Boston 😂 pic.twitter.com/9U2VlSACqS
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) February 9, 2022
Jarry and the Penguins ended up winning, and by losing his cool, Marchand put the Bruins in a tougher spot. Check out the Bruins’ schedule over the next six games of that Marchand suspension:
Thu, Feb 10 | vs. Carolina |
Sat, Feb 12 | @ Ottawa |
Tue, Feb 15 | @ Rangers |
Thu, Feb 17 | @ Islanders |
Sat, Feb 19 | @ Ottawa |
Mon, Feb 21 | vs. Colorado |
The Bruins then begin a six-game road trip when Marchand is scheduled to return from his suspension. While it’s unlikely that the Bruins will slip out of a playoff spot, this can’t help their slim chances of improving their seeding.
It also adds to Marchand’s stacked suspension history. Relevant in the, um, likely event that he’ll continue to exercise a lack of impulse control.
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.