Patrice Bergeron is beyond reproach as far as Brad Marchand is concerned.
Bergeron has been Marchand’s on-ice mentor just about for the entirety of Marchand’s decade in the NHL. Marchand never misses a chance to speak glowingly of Marchand, and the duo has teamed with David Pastrnak to form arguably the best line in the NHL.
In a Zoom conference call Thursday with Bruins season ticket holders, Marchand was asked by Bruins radio analyst Bob Beers whether he ever chirped Bergeron, the line’s center, for not passing the puck.
Marchand, unsurprisingly, knows far better than that, and he says the only time there’s any sort of friction between he and Bergeron is when the latter has to step in and straighten out both Marchand and Pastrnak.
“I absolutely would never, I don’t bite the hand that feeds me. I’m a little smarter than that,” Marchand said. “I think the most we’ve ever got into it is when Pasta and I are getting into it, and Bergy’s gotta yell at both of us to stop yelling at each other.”
Obviously, the collective talent of the three players is the biggest reason for the line’s success. But as Marchand explained, all of his time riding shotgun to Bergeron has produced undeniable chemistry.
“I don’t ever have to tell him to get me a puck because he’s always getting us the puck, but it’s kind of at the point now where we know when we miss a pass to each other,” Marchand explained. ” … There’s always communication back and forth like that, but I would never start an argument with Bergy or yell at him for something like that, but he’s had to give it to me a couple of times.”
That last part is not entirely surprising, either.
