It's hard to believe the 2010-11 core of the Boston Bruins team that won the Stanley Cup is down to just Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand on the roster.
While some players have retired, others have moved on to other teams. Most are closer to the end of their careers than the start of it, but those still playing like Milan Lucic and Zdeno Chara haven't hung up their skates just yet.
Still, Marchand and Bergeron are getting older and have been in the NHL for 12 and 18 years, respectively. Marchand is the youngest member of what's left of the core and has shown no signs of slowing down. In fact, his game seems to be elevated.
At 33 years old, Marchand probably has a few more good years left in him, but it's certainly fair to wonder if retirement has crossed his mind. And when he was asked Thursday just how long he wants to play, the top line wing gave a classic answer.
"Until they boot me out of the league -- which, with my history, could be tomorrow," Marchand told reporters, referring to trouble he's gotten into throughout his career.
"I think that's one thing that, you talk to a lot of the older guys that have retired and moved on, the feedback is to play as long as you can," he added. "Once you're done, it's not coming back. That's kind of how I intend to look at it. Maybe that transition is I go from first to second to third to fourth line again. Who knows? Maybe I'll be a defenseman at some point. But yeah, hopefully it's a long time."
Marchand has four years remaining on his contract and will be 36 by the time it expires. That's still a few years away, though, so we'll enjoy watching him continue to play at an elite level before we start thinking too far into the future.
