Four potential trade destinations for Boston Bruins star Brad Marchand

Brad Marchand is now so far removed from his rookie season, it’s easy to forget how incredible his first post-season with the Boston Bruins was.

Marchand turned 23 about halfway through the B’s run to the 2011 title and scored 11 goals in 25 games that spring, as Boston ended a nearly 40-year title drought. In the history of the league, the only two players who scored more goals as playoff freshmen are Dino Ciccarelli (14 goals in 1982) and Jake Guentzel (13 in 2017). The only other players to bury even 10 goals as rookies are Jeremy Roenick (11 in 1990) and Claude Lemieux (10 in 1986).

That’s a pretty extraordinary list.

Of course, Marchand’s playoff exploits didn’t stop there. He’s played in two more Cup finals since winning it all as a rookie, and his 56 career post-season goals trail only Joe Pavelski (59) for most in the NHL since the start of the 2011 playoffs.

Pavelski might be a relevant comparison for the 36-year-old Marchand as we contemplate whether the Bruins captain could actually be dealt to a contender before Friday’s trade deadline. Of those 59 goals Pavelski scored since 2011, 26 of them came after his 35th birthday. That includes 13 in 27 games during the 2020 playoffs — when the Dallas Stars won the Western Conference — and an incredible nine in just 14 games two years ago, when Pavelski was 38.

Nobody would expect that type of production from Marchand, but — like Pavelski — much of Marchand’s tenacious game figures to keep playing well in the post-season, even as he scraps and whacks his way into his upper-30s.

Will the B’s really part with their captain? For a few reasons, it feels like a long shot. Marchand is hurt and — though he’s not expected to miss an extended chunk of time — he’s unlikely to play before the deadline. The veteran has also publicly stated his preference to say with the only team he’s ever known and, on their end, the Bruins also seem sincerely invested in extending the relationship via a new pact.

However, all it takes is one hefty offer to convince Boston general manager Don Sweeney to move a player he may even be able to re-sign in the summer as free agent.

If Marchand does wind up on another club before the deadline, here are a couple to keep an eye on.

Vegas fills a type of villain role in the league and few, if any, individual players have been the subject of more animus from opponents in the NHL than Marchand.

It could be a diabolically good match.

In his latest trade board, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos wrote that while a Marchand deal is unlikely, Vegas and another team we’ll get to shortly just won’t go away when it comes to pursuing the left winger. We know the Knights have been poking around for a winger, and this would represent a massive add for the club.

Recall, the Knights added Ivan Barbashev — whose stature and approach is not completely dissimilar to Marchand’s — and he wound up being an integral figure in their run to the title.

Of course, the Knights are coached by Bruce Cassidy, who coached Marchand as both an AHLer and NHLer in Providence and Boston.

Obviously, the sandpaper factor on this club hasn’t been the same since Gabriel Landeskog’s last appearance, which was nearly three years ago. If you had Artturi Lehkonen on one line and Marchand on another, you’d have two puck hounds in the top six who can excel in dirty areas and get their goals.

It feels like Colorado’s top priority would be landing a second-line centre, but if that’s just not possible, maybe the Avs pivot hard to Marchand.

Whether it’s Connor McDavid in Edmonton, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar in Colorado or Mark Stone in Vegas, every team we’ve mentioned has somebody who just played and won with Marchand at the 4 Nations Face-Off and, presumably, they’d have good things to share about the experience with management.

Edmonton has yet to find the right mix, and adding Marchand’s playoff pedigree might hold appeal. He has a ton of experience playing with high-level players, having skated on one of the best lines in hockey for years in Boston with centre Patrice Bergeron and right winger David Pastrnak.

Also, a move would put two of the century’s signature shift disturbers — Marchand and Corey Perry — on the same club.

The Devils must be submitted for consideration any time a player with loads of jam is potentially available. They’re the only Eastern Conference club on this list and, given their druthers, if the Bruins are going to take a deep gulp and trade a franchise icon, they’d probably rather it be to the West.

That said, New Jersey — with a crowded blueline and defence pipeline — could make an intriguing piece like right-shot, offence-minded 21-year-old defenceman Seamus Casey available.

That might be the kind of offer it takes to get the B’s to actually go through with this.