To begin the 2022-2023 season, the Bruins will be without star winger Brad Marchand as he recovers from off-season hip surgery.
This will be a significant blow to a Bruins team looking to get off to a hot start to stay afloat in the best division in the NHL. The Bruins knew they would have to weather the storm without their top-line left winger and one of their top offensive producers in the lineup for at least two months. It was expected that Marchand wouldn’t be making his return to the lineup till late December and even maybe the new year.
However, at the club’s annual summer golf tournament, Marchand himself discussed how his surgery rehab is progressing:
The 34-year-old stated he would be back on the ice for a light skate yesterday:
”First day. But it’s pretty much like learning how to skate again Very light for this next little while and then hopefully progress each week”
Marchand discussed how he was only able to get back to training about six weeks ago:
”I was pretty good to walk around, just couldn’t do anything else It was a pretty slow couple months. After six weeks, I could start doing a little rehab and then after two months, a little bit more, three months, I could start lightly training my upper body.”
In his career, the veteran left-winger has never missed more than 14 consecutive NHL games, but he noted it will be much longer this time around:
”I think it’s around there, the end of the month – the last few days of November is kind of the target date. It’s about six months, around there.”
‘’It will be tough, but I think we’re in a good spot as a team I think the toughest thing would be if the team wasn’t winning or doing well, then that would be really crappy. But I don’t think that’s gonna be the case. I think we’re gonna have a really good start. The guys look really good right now – hoping that they put a really good push on.”
Having Marchand back in the lineup will be crucial for the Bruins as they look to give it one more run at the Stanley Cup with Bergeron and Krejci back on the team. Marchand brings a spark to the team in all aspects as his high motor drives this team. Marchand has scored 351 goals and tallied 444 assists for 795 points in his Bruins career and will look to add to those totals when he is back.
His return gives the Bruins three solid lines and one of the best top-six forward groupings in the league upon his return if everyone plays to their full abilities. The Bruins’ top line will boast Marchand, Bergeron, and Jake DeBrusk, while the second line includes Taylor Hall, David Krejci, and David Pastrnak. Rounding out the third line will be a combination of Pavel Zacha, Charlie Coyle, and either Craig Smith or Trent Frederic, as head coach Jim Montgomery will have plenty of options to work with.
The Bruins officially kick off their season on October 12th on the road against the Washington Capitals, and fans, as well as players, will be counting down the days till Marchand is back on the ice.
