few minutes ago Sportsnet’s “Saturday Headlines” segmentElliotte Friedman reports that the Boston Bruins are close to a contract extension with captain Brad Marchand. Friedman stated that the extension would be for a three-year period, but did not provide any information about the salary of the deal.

There was a distinct mood shift in Boston after Marchand and head coach Jim Montgomery exchanged passionate banter following last week’s overtime loss to the Utah Hockey Club. Marchand’s turnover led to Utah’s game-tying goal (the goal was later overturned on review), and Mongtomery was visibly disappointed in Marchand’s response.

Both Marchand and Montgomery downplayed the interaction.

“There didn’t need to be a conversation between Marchy and I,” Montgomery explained. “He and I are both emotional people. I’m not very happy with myself about that, but then I don’t think about it and neither does he. He’s a professional. He’s a great player who’s done a lot of good things for us and he also has high expectations. So our It’s over and done with.”

The frustrations are understandable for a Bruins team that has struggled out of the gate. Boston has a 4-4-1 record in nine games, most recently winning in overtime on Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It’s hard to say Marchand isn’t part of the problem. Not all the blame can be placed on his shoulders, but his play on the defensive side of the puck continues to deteriorate and he has only five assists this season.

An understandable regression is expected for a player entering his age-37 season on his next contract. Still, the Bruins continued to rely on Marchand for the back half of his career. Since his age-31 season in 2019-20, Marchand has scored 139 goals and 370 points in 348 games for Boston (not including this year’s results) and is averaging just over 19 minutes of ice time per night.

Their play-off success is well known and this could be one of the key contributing factors of this extension. Marchand hasn’t led Boston back to the Stanley Cup Final since turning 31, but he has been one of the most consistent postseason talents in team history, scoring 26 goals and 55 points in 49 games from 2020 to 2024.

Marchand’s extension in Boston will be the first of several streaks for the team this season. The Bruins organization still needs to finalize new deals for forwards Trent Frederic, Morgan Geekie and John Beecher by the start of the 2025-26 season, but signing their captain to an early extension steers momentum in the right direction.