Marcus Johansson, absent from close to 30 straight games due to a concussion suffered on an elbow from Brad Marchand back on Jan. 23, made his return to New Jersey practice on Monday.
And with his return came some unfiltered thoughts on Marchand, the suspension, and how he hopes the league does something about the polarizing B's leading scorer and irritant.
"It's sad, it's stupid," Johansson said of the incident. "I hope it doesn't come to him ending someone else's career before it's enough. That's not why we play the game. I think there's always situations where you try and hit someone and you try to make a hockey play, and things can go wrong. Then there are plays like this, that has nothing to do with hockey. So it's sad to see, and I guess I'm unfortunate to be on the receiving end of that."
The 29-year-old Marchand responded to Johansson's comments Tuesday, but (somewhat surprisingly) refused to take the bait.
"He's entitled to his opinion," Marchand said after Tuesday's morning skate in Winnipeg. "I understand he's frustrated with the situation. I would be as well. I feel really bad about how things played out, but again, very happy to see that he's back out on the ice and hopefully he's playing soon."
Marchand is currently in the midst of a Hart-caliber run this season, with 33 goals and 80 points in 60 games this season.
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