Brad Marchand shut down the Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday night with a game-winning goal in overtime, lifting the Boston Bruins to a much-needed 4-3 win that snapped their three-game losing streak. A few minutes later, he shut down a report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that he is “getting closer” to a three-year extension.
Friedman led his “Saturday Headlines” with the report during Hockey Night in Canada, saying that the two sides were “getting closer on an extension, expected to be three years.” Marchand, 36, is currently in the final season of an eight-year contract he signed back in 2016.
“Elliotte likes talking about me this week, eh?” Marchand said with a laugh when asked if he had any comment on the report, referencing Friedman’s comments earlier in the week about a heated interaction on the bench last Saturday in which Bruins coach Jim Montgomery yelled at and shoved Marchand after a bad turnover.
Marchand then got a bit more serious in tone.
“I mentioned this before, I’m not big on talking about contract stuff in the media. I’m not going to do it, but that report from Elliotte is false,” Marchand said. “I am not going to talk about my contract stuff in the media, but if I were signing a three-year extension, it would be signed. Clearly, it’s just… Elliotte is just wrong there. So, that’s about it on that topic.”
Marchand’s goal Saturday was his first of the season after going eight games without one, a sluggish start that wasn’t entirely unexpected following three offseason surgeries that cost him the start of training camp. It was also the 402nd goal of his career, tying him with Rick Middleton for fourth place on the Bruins all-time goals list.
If Marchand were to sign a three-year extension, it would lock him up through the 2027-28 season. But, according to the man himself, such a deal is not imminent.