Brad Marchand opens up about a major change which has been impacting his performance this season
Brad Marchand has admitted to making a significant change for the 2024-25 season, and it's been affecting his performance on the ice.
According to PuckPedia, Marchand is entering the final year of his eight-year, $49 million contract and is set to become a free agent after this season. Bruins GM Don Sweeney recently confirmed that the team is in contract talks with Marchand and two other players.
In an effort to make an impact in his contract year, Marchand made an off-season change that has been affecting his play. During the Bruins game against the Los Angeles Kings it was revealed that Marchand switched to a longer stick this season. However this adjustment seems to be causing him difficulties.
Fans & analysts have noticed that the Bruins captain is struggling receiving passes & making plays with the new stick.
Commentator Billy Jaffe confirmed these suspicions noting that the adjustment is taking longer than expected. Longer sticks can offer great advantages to NHL players but it seems that Brad Marchand is having a rough time adapting as shown by some of his on-ice decisions.
@BJaffe
confirms my suspicion, Marchand's new "longer stick" is taking longer to adjust to than he thought I'm my opinion. don't get me wrong, I love a long stick, but seems like he's having a tough time getting used to it with some of the plays he's making.
If the longer stick continues to hinder his performance, many hope that Marchand will revert to his old equipment, which worked well throughout his career.
Last season, Brad Marchand had 29 goals and 38 assists for 67 points in 82 games. So far this season, in three games, he has recorded 2 assists but no goals and has a -2 plus/minus rating.
