Toronto Maple Leafs: Why I Hate Brad Marchand
My blood boils every time I see Brad Marchand take the ice against the Toronto Maple Leafs throughout this playoff series.
In my mind, Marchand is a thug. I absolutely dread seeing his face when he plays against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Throughout his career, he’s pulled plenty of shenanigans and has been penalized by Gary Bettman and the NHL’s Department of Player Safety. In January of this year, he elbowed Marcus Johansson of the New Jersey Devils in the head causing a concussion. In addition, he’s elbowed R.J. Umberger in the head, low bridged Sami Salo, slew footed Derick Brassard and clipped Mark Borowiecki. All of the instances listed above have led to Marchand being suspended.
It is evident that when playing the Toronto Maple Leafs, the tides have turned. So far in the series, he’s received only a minor penalty. If I was a referee, he would have sat in the penalty box more than that.
Marchand The Goon
In this series, Marchand has licked Leo Komarov and tripped Mitch Marner without penalty. That’s just two examples. Trust me there has been more. The sad thing is he defended himself licking Komarov by saying it was to get into his head.
As mentioned prior, he tripped Marner late in the third period of last night’s contest. Per the words of CBC commentators, Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, Marchand “slew-footed” him at the faceoff draw.
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Earlier on, I shared that Marchand has gotten into trouble with the NHL for slew-footing. Why should this slew-footing incident be different than the previous one?
I’m frustrated that the referees missed Marchand’s slew-footing. The NHL could still punish him, however, with a suspension or a fine. .
If Bruins Fans Read This Post
I’m sure this post will be opened by plenty of Boston Bruins fans. They’ll probably comment below and say something like “What about Nazem Kadri?”.
Well that’s the fun of sports. You pick your team and you’re allowed to love or hate whoever you want – you don’t need to be fair or consistent. I might hate Marchand today, but if the Leafs acquired him…..
Next: Eerie Similarities Between Now and 1992/93
Recap
To recap, I urge the NHL to look at penalizing Marchand for his actions. His display throughout the series has hurt the league’s reputation. If the NHL continues to allow him to showcase these immature actions, fans across the league might not be interested in buying tickets, jerseys and NHL Gamecenter packages. They could spend their money watching and supporting the NBA playoffs or baseball.
Once again, Bettman and George Parros, please review the slew-footing incident last night. I think you’ll see that Marchand isn’t as innocent as your referees claim him to be.