Brad Marchand is another Eddie Haskell

Eddie Haskell – America’s Bad Boy! The act of overt flattery to put someone at ease so you can take advantage of their lowered defenses.

“When child actor Ken Osmond stepped onto the set of Leave it to Beaver in 1957, he not only entered our living rooms, he homesteaded a permanent place in the American pop culture. The poster child for sneaky, rotten kids everywhere, he was the reference point for cautious mothers to warn their children about. And everyone in America knew an Eddie Haskell at some point in his or her lives….”

Joe McDonald, ESPN:

Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct and was ejected for spearing Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Jake Dotchin in the groin at 19:20 of the first period Tuesday night at TD Garden.

The puck was in Tampa Bay's zone and Dotchin was defending the front of the net when Marchand attempted to play the puck, but finished with the spear. Lightning trainer Tom Mulligan tended to Dotchin, who remained on the ice for several minutes before skating off on his own.

He will have a hearing with NHL Player Safety on Thursday morning.

Marchand has been suspended or fined three times previously for infractions directed at an opponent’s lower body. While slew footing and clipping are not identical plays, they involve an attack on an opponent’s lower body that can cause a defenseless player to crash dangerously to the ice. Here, Marchand again attacks the lower body of an opponent in a manner that causes him to cartwheel to the ice in a dangerous fashion. He also has a tomahawk chop on his record.

Marchand’s first suspension came in March 2011, for two games on a hit. Columbus Blue Jackets' center, R.J. Umberger was in a vulnerable position: off-balance, low to the ice, with his back to Marchand. Marchand stuck an elbow out and nailed him in the back of the head.

Slew footing the New York Rangers’ forward Derick Brassard. He was unhurt, and Marchand got away with a two-game suspension.

Marchand dropped low and hammered Vancouver Canucks' defenseman Sami Salo in the knees, resulting in a concussion for Salo and a five-game suspension.

Clipped Ottawa Senators' defenseman Mark Borowiecki from behind earning a three game suspension.

Jonathan Willis, Bleacher Report:

January 26, 2017 - There is every reason to think that Marchand is going to keep kicking out his opponents’ feet and hitting them from behind and going low on hits. It doesn’t seem like the NHL is all that interested in stopping him. There simply isn’t any question. He's a dirty player and a danger to his peers.

Brad Marchand is an overwhelming choice when representatives from Make-A-Wish or Team IMPACT need a volunteer to meet with their children. He has a gift. Maybe Brad can eliminate his phoniness on ice to match his off-ice behavior.

The fictional Eddie Haskell grew up and became a Los Angeles policeman.


Paul Murphy

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy

Hockey players jump right back on the horse

Boston Bruins’ Adam McQuaid Is A Hockey Player, Expected To Be Fine After Neck Sliced Open

There was never a doubt that defenseman Adam McQuaid would play Monday night against the Ottawa Senators.

Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston:

In just about any other professional sport, a sliced neck would mean at least a week off for most players. But hockey players don’t care about neck cuts – in some cases, they barely even notice.

That’s what happened to Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night. Teammate David Backes’ leg shot upward during a battle along the boards, inadvertently hitting the trailing McQuaid directly and I mean directly in the side of the neck.

On March 22, 1989. Goaltender Clint Malarchuk of the Buffalo Sabres had his neck sliced open from the skate of twenty-three-year-old rookie St. Louis Blues' right wing Steve Tuttle, who had charged the net, looking for a pass." One of our defensemen, Uwe Krupp, was right behind him. The pass came just above the crease -- a backdoor play. I slid across the net. Krupp pulled Tuttle down from behind and slid into me, skates first", said Malarchuk.

ESPN:

"When you get knocked off the horse, you get back on," I told the reporters. "It'll be tough to play, but I’ll have to be ready ... I’ll be psyched for it ... I'm anxious to get in there. I'll be happy to play. Something like this kind of opens your eyes. You have a life to live ... I'm lucky to be here."

There's not only one victim in this type of situation. Nobody gets out unaffected," Malarchuk said. "You cannot be directly involved in something like that and not be profoundly affected by it. You cannot see something like that and not be profoundly affected by it.

"I grew up around rodeo," Clint said. "You got bucked off the horse, the sooner you got back on, the better you were going to be. You can't be living with negatives all the time. You've got to get some positive flow back. I thought it was important to come back as quickly as I could."

Then he added with a laugh, "And I was also in the option year of my contract."

Toughest job in Sports? - Being the Team Doctor for a hockey team.


Paul Murphy

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy

When the clock strikes three, just do nothing

Daniel R. Levitt, SABR:

When the Boston Red Sox won the World Series in 1918, it was their fifth triumph in the fifteen years of the modern classic. The club had the best player in baseball, outfielder-pitcher Babe Ruth, another top hitter in Harry Hooper, star catcher Wally Schang, and four other pitching stars — Carl Mays, Dutch Leonard, Joe Bush, and Sam Jones — each younger than 27. With the ending of the Great War, Ernie Shore, Duffy Lewis, and other stars were returning from military service. Local fans were optimistic — not only because the ballclub was loaded with talent but because Bostonians had become accustomed to great teams since the early days of professional baseball.

Within a few years all of the above players were gone, mostly traded or sold to the New York Yankees, and the Red Sox had become a laughable franchise, finishing dead last in nine of eleven years from 1922 through 1932. Boston Red Sox' owner Harry Frazee sold Ruth to the Yankees for $125,000 and a $300,000 mortgage on Fenway Park.

Edmonton Oilers - In 1978, acquired Center Wayne Gretzky, Goaltender Eddie Mio and Left Wing Peter Driscoll from the Indianapolis Racers (when both teams were in the World Hockey Association) for $700,000 and future considerations. The Racers were losing $40,000 per game. The money was not enough to keep the Racers alive; they folded that December.

Los Angeles Kings - the Kings received from the Edmonton Oilers Wayne Gretzky, Defenseman Marty McSorley and Left Wing Mike Krushelnyski for Center Jimmy Carson, Left Wing Martin Gelinas, $15 million in cash, and the Kings' first-round draft picks in 1989 (later traded to the New Jersey Devils – New Jersey selected Jason Miller), 1991 (Martin Rucinsky), and 1993 (Nick Stajduhar). The Oilers' owner Peter Pocklington was burned in effigy outside Northlands Coliseum. Gretzky himself was considered a "traitor" by some Canadians for turning his back on his adopted hometown, and his home country.

Boston Bruins - In 1964, trade Goaltender Ken Dryden to the Montreal Canadiens for Right Wing Paul Reid and Defenseman Guy Allen, whom the Bruins coveted. Allen nor Reid ever appeared in an NHL contest. Dryden's regular season totals include a .790 winning percentage, a 2.24 goals against average, and, most incredibly, winning 258 games and losing only 57 games while recording 46 shutouts in just 397 NHL games. He won the Vezina Trophy five times as the top goaltender in the NHL. Dryden played on six Stanley Cup winners in his eight year Hall of Fame career.

If a rival team owner calls and mentions cash, listen carefully. If not, hang up the phone. No matter what happens at the 3 o'clock NHL trading deadline on Wednesday, it will never match the Ken Dryden deal. The best trades are the ones that aren't made.



Paul Murphy

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy

Boston Bruins operate under the cover of darkness

Boston:

The Boston Bruins fired Stanley Cup-winning coach Claude Julien on Tuesday as the team was in danger of missing the playoffs for a third straight season. He was the longest-tenured coach in the NHL. General manager Don Sweeney announced the change on Tuesday, naming assistant Bruce Cassidy the interim coach.

Julien was 419-246-94 in 10 seasons that included two trips to the NHL finals and a Stanley Cup title in 2011. The Bruins lost in the finals two years later, and the year after that earned 117 points and the Presidents’ Trophy before losing in the conference semifinals to archrival Montreal.

Claude Julien said at the time that he had little room for error. “It just means that I’m probably the next one to fall off the totem pole, right?” the former Canadiens and Devils coach said last summer. “I’m going to try to make it last as long as I can.”

Camp Huckins is the most amazing loving and special place on earth. Every single day, I wish I was there again. The girls you meet at huckins will always be your truest friends, and care about you unconditionally. I love Camp Huckins. It is the biggest part of my life, and the source of my greatest happiness!

Boston Bruins' President Cam Neely was dropping off his daughter at Camp Huckins in Freedom, NH just a few summers ago. I was there dropping off some clothing items for one of the counselors. He never got out of the black limousine. I should have known then that Claude Julien wouldn't see the light of day.

The ten years of Claude's reign with the Bruins won't hold the lifetime of memories that the young girls experienced.


Paul Murphy

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy

For Bobby Orr, every day is Mother's Day

We always remember the big events in our lives. Most of these are sad so we rarely talk about them, but we know every detail. We can’t remember where we left our wallet, keys, glasses or coffee cup, but we always know where we were when it happened.

It was a beautiful, sunny day on May 10, 1970. This was Mother’s Day. It was also Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the St. Louis Blues and the Boston Bruins. While St. Louis had only been in The National Hockey League for 4 seasons, the Boston club had been in business since the 1920’s. Many of those years, the team would be found in the cellar. The fans had waited a long time to see the Bruins capture the Cup, and today surely seemed like the one for the Bruins held a 3-0 series lead. 29 years was an eternity to the long suffering Boston faithful. Little did they know this wait would be nothing compared to: 86 years for the Red Sox, 100 for the Cubs, and over 200 for the British. The British had held a commanding 3-0 series lead as well.

Boston and St. Louis were tied at 4 as we headed to overtime. It was over before you could blink. Orr to Sanderson, back to Orr. Defenseman Noel Picard would trip Bobby. As he flew through the air, Orr would slide the puck under the pads of future Hall of Fame Goaltender Glenn Hall. Before he would land, women had placed pillows on the ice to lighten the impact. That supposedly famous photograph of Derek Sanderson hugging Bobby Orr following the Stanley Cup Winning Goal is actually a deranged, female fan from Section 8, not Derek.
Those were the days my friend, we thought they’d never end.

We were wrong. A crushing first round playoff exit in 1971 to the Montreal Canadiens was the start. The Boston Bruins did win the Stanley Cup for a second time in 1972, but the end was near. The World Hockey Association took away key players in goaltender Gerry Cheevers and center Derek Sanderson. The expansion draft cost the Bruins right winger, Eddie Westfall.

Shocking losses to the New York Rangers in 1973, the bigtime choke against the Philadelphia Flyers in 1974, and the Chicago Black Hawks in 1975 tarnished the two titles.

The playoff losses were rough, but they were not as painful as seeing Bobby Orr don a Chicago Black Hawks jersey. After having played only 10 games with the Bruins in 1976, Orr's representative Alan Eagleson worked out a contract deal with the Black Hawks. Eagleson had withheld pertinent information from Bobby Orr, including 18% ownership shares of the Bruins. Orr would play only 26 games in a three year span with Chicago.

The Black Hawks balked at paying him the balance of his contract in 1979, and Orr took them to court, settling in 1983 for $450,000, one-third of the money they owed him. Of this, $200,000 went to taxes and legal fees.

The goal that would surely live on forever in the city of Boston wasn’t just left as a memory, however, as an 800-pound bronze statue commemorating the goal was eventually erected outside the TD Garden to solidify it's place in history. The statue was placed on the western side of the TD Garden for roughly six years before it was moved just three days ago on May 7th, 2016 to a new home on the eastern side of Causeway Street in Portal Park.

To further honor the memory of the 1970 Stanley Cup-winning goal, the Bobby Orr statue will be moved in about three years to be used as the centerpiece for the entrance of the new complex, “The Hub On Causeway."

Traffic on the Zakim Bridge was backed up for miles while workers gingerly moved the statue. Nobody beeped their horns because Number 4 was going through the tunnel.


Paul Murphy

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy