Brad Marchand Reveals What He Said To Artemi Panarin, Shares Disappointment With Suspension Decision
BOSTON (CBS) -- Brad Marchand has had an eventful week.
Last Friday, in a nationally televised game against the Rangers, he was on the receiving end of a thrown glove, after a verbal spat with Rangers forward Artemi Panarin. On Sunday, he drew the ire of Vancouver by slew footing Oliver Ekman-Larsson. And on Monday, he was suspended for that dangerous hit.
Marchand spoke to the media on Tuesday and shared his side of both notable altercations.
Regarding the Panarin incident, Marchand shared what he said that inspired the glove throw.
"I said that no one in Russia likes him," Marchand shared. "So if that is now what is setting guys over the edge, then this is the softest league in the world, and no one should be allowed to say anything. Because there's a lot worse things said out there than that. So if that's what he's crying about, then it is what it is."
On the suspension, Marchand said he was hoping that his dedication in recent years to not stepping over the line would lead to the Department of Player Safety to rule on his hit the way that it had on some other similar hits.
"I have tried extremely hard over the last four years to get away from the reputation that I've had. I think I've done an extremely good job with that. I know early on, I crossed over the line a lot of the times, and it's unfortunate that that continues to haunt me," Marchand said. "If you go back, it's 310-plus games, so almost four years of good, hard [hockey]. I mean, I play hard. There's no question. And I compete, and I'm no longer the player that I was that had to break into the league and the way that I felt like I had to establish myself. So I was hoping that at this point, they would've seen past what's gone on before that."
Marchand noted that he's among the most productive players in the league, as he ranks third in the league in points behind Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl since the 2016-17 season.
"I feel like I've completely transformed myself from the player I was to a player that should be respected in this league for his abilities. But again, I understand completely, the history that I have. I just was hoping that they would see past that, and obviously that wasn't the case."
Marchand was not technically a repeat offender by the definition laid out by the league, as he hasn't been fined or suspended in the past 18 months. Regardless, he said the league brought up his long history of suspensions and fines when discussing the latest incident.
"I was just -- personally, I was hoping that it wouldn't be [factored in], because I've worked to kind of get away from that and become a good player," Marchand said. "I was kind of hoping that it would not be part of it, and be given the benefit of the doubt. But again, that's not up for me to decide. And I'm not gonna criticize them. They're doing a job, they're doing it the way that that they feel is fit. I just was a little caught off-guard because of, again, how things have been dealt with recently. So I was hoping that I'd be dealt that way, and not because of my previous history. That's all."
Marchand will serve the first game of his three-game suspension on Tuesday night.
