The Boston Bruins’ general manager, Don Sweeney, provided comments on a potential reunion with Brad Marchand after trading him to the Florida Panthers.
Brad Marchand is now a member of the Florida Panthers after the most surprising trade of the deadline. Not only did most people think Marchand would stay in Boston and sign a cheap extension this summer, but no fans would’ve believed that Marchand would become a Panther, joining one of the franchise’s top rivals in recent years.
On Friday, Don Sweeney, the Bruins’ general manager, talked with the press and addressed many interesting topics surrounding Marchand’s trade.
He started by discussing the gap between the Bruins and Marchand regarding the extension terms and revealed that they couldn’t reach common ground in the negotiations:
‘(We) just had a gap. Deep down, we had been talking really from Day 2 of free agency in terms of what his intentions were and where we were at. And we always had a bit of a term gap that took us a while and felt that we had been able to bridge that.
But again, a player is more than entitled to have an understanding of what they think their market value is and do what’s best for them.
And I have to always respect that. There’s never an ounce of me that won’t respect what that player thinks is best for him and his family. And that’s a decision that was made.’
Later, Sweeney also talked about the chances of seeing Marchand return to the Bruins this summer in free agency. He started by saying it would be a better question for Marchand, considering all the emotions he has to go through right now, but Sweeney, for his part, will never close the door on a reunion.
In his own words:
‘I mean, that’s probably a better question for Brad at this point in time, considering the emotions he’s going through. I love Brad. I’ve said all along, we’ve been trying to sign Brad all year long.
We just had a gap there, and I respect that. He knows where he believes his market value is, and I hope he respects our position because he’s beloved here. I would never close the door.’
Regardless of what he said, the Bruins’ underwhelming contract offer to Marchand is why the captain didn’t agree on an extension.