Apparently, Brad Marchand hasn't been playing under ideal physical conditions for quite some time.
The Boston Bruins winger underwent surgery Sept. 14 to address a sports hernia, which he claims was "bugging" him for more than two years.
Marchand expressed how the extra time off after the surgery and lengthy 2019-20 campaign did him good.
"It was a really easy decision to do it," Marchand told reporters Monday, via the team. "I was going to do it regardless, no matter what happened this season. But having the four or five months off, it worked out perfectly for me, but I was having that surgery regardless and I needed it big-time. And now after going through it, I can’t believe I waited two years to do it. I was hoping it was going to go away. The last thing any player wants to do is have a surgery that’s going to take four months to recover, but seeing the difference in how I feel on the ice and what was holding me back, it’s night and day. I'm anxious to be 100% and get out there and play some games again."
Before the surgery, though, Marchand explained how he was in a significant amount of pain.
"It was a long time coming," Marchand said. “It’s been two-and-a-half years it's been bugging me. It’s affected not only my on-ice but my off-ice training. I haven't been able to sprint or run in years. It was an issue with just my left side, my left groin, my left ab that was bugging me. And then this past season, it was both sides. So it would go from one day all four would be sore, then it would be just my left side, then that would feel better and my right side would act up. It got to the point where I was only able to play at like 80%. I couldn’t take a full stride. A lot of times I was taking days off. I think in the playoffs I barely practiced because I needed every day off to recover because I was in a lot of pain and it bugged me every single day.
We can't wait to see how a fully healthy Marchand looks during the upcoming campaign. The Bruins begin the 2020-21 regular season Jan. 14 against the New Jersey Devils.
