The Boston Bruins are having plenty of issues on the ice, as they suffered their sixth straight loss Thursday night in Tampa and have now slipped to 11th place in the Eastern Conference on points percentage.
According to WEEI’s Rich Keefe, they are also having major issues off the ice.
“What I’m hearing is they’re also a mess off the ice,” Keefe said Friday morning on Jones & Keefe. “Apparently the locker room is a disaster, and David Pastrnak is at the center of that. David Pastrnak has told the team he doesn’t want to be on a line with Brad Marchand, and it may stem from Brad Marchand calling out Pastrnak for some of his play throughout the year.”
This is where it’s worth a reminder that “Scoops” Keefe has broken several major Bruins stories, including the firing of Jim Montgomery and details of Hampus Lindholm’s injury. He also had updates on the Jeremy Swayman contract negotiations that were later confirmed by national insiders.
Obviously, any kind of feud between Pastrnak and Marchand, two of the team’s leaders and arguably their two best players, would be a major concern. Can it be resolved? Or will the situation get bad enough that the organization feels the need to trade one of them?
“I think I’d try to figure it out, but here they are. I think they’ve been trying to figure it out, and the results now on the ice are boiling over,” Keefe said.
Listen to the full segment above.
The Bruins will look to avoid a seventh straight loss when they face the rival Florida Panthers Saturday afternoon in Sunrise.
UPDATE: Marchand and Pastrnak both denied that there is any rift when asked about it after Friday's practice down in Fort Lauderdale. You can watch their full responses below. Keefe said that he stands by his report.