Brad Marchand and Marcus Johansson may not have been the best of friends after Marchand concussed Johansson with an elbow to head last January, causing the then-New Jersey Devil to miss 56 games.
But the two will have to put the past behind them and to coexist as teammates after the Boston Bruins acquired Johansson from the Devils for two draft picks Monday. Johansson already addressed the situation with a bit of humor, and Don Sweeney doesn’t seem too worried about anything that happened between the two.
The Bruins general manager addressed the incident in a press conference Monday night.
“I mean, in the moment it’s not great, not great for the player. March felt bad about it,” he said, via a team-provided transcript. “He wasn’t trying to hurt the player, and he paid the price for that. Hockey players are – I’ve seen a lot of tough guys have a beef then go out and have a beer afterwards, so I think it’ll be perfectly fine, and March will be the first one to welcome him aboard. That’s the teammate he is.”
Sweeney also noted he believes Johansson is happy about joining “a competitive atmosphere.”
So even though Marchand and Johansson might have gotten off on the wrong foot, it seems Johansson and Sweeney are confident the two will get along just fine as Boston continues its push toward the playoffs.
