The Bruins underwent a serious roster turnover this past offseason, losing such established skaters as Nathan Horton, Andrew Ference, Rich Peverley and Tyler Seguin. The trading of Seguin was especially jarring, and it had some inside the B’s locker room wondering if they would be the next to go.
“[The Seguin trade] came as a bit of a shock,” Brad Marchand told WEEI.com’s DJ Bean on Thursday. “I think there were definitely some guys that thought we were pretty safe, and it was a bit of a wakeup call that every day you come in you’ve got to make sure you’re doing everything you have to do to stay here. I don’t think anyone really expected Segs to be shipped out that early, but it definitely took a little while to sink in.”
Marchand put up the best offensive numbers of his career last season, surprisingly leading the team in both goals and points. But he says the departure of his former linemate made him question whether or not he had become too comfortable in his role with the Bruins. The fear of being traded himself was not far from his mind.
“A little bit, yeah. Definitely,” Marchand said. “Anything can happen at any time. If you have half a bad year or you���re not playing up to par, with the cap system nowadays, they’re going to want to improve the team. You don’t want to be that guy to get shipped out. The easiest thing to do is play your best and hopefully you can save yourself.”
Marchand was not, in fact, dealt, and newcomer Loui Eriksson has slid into Seguin’s former spot alongside Marchand and Patrice Bergeron during training camp.
