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It’s been close to 15 years since Brad Marchand made his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins en route to slowly but surely cementing himself as one of the biggest pests in the league. However, he has managed to clean up his act over the past few seasons—which could be traced back to one of the more infamous incidents of his career.
Marchand has always had an uncanny ability to get under the skin of his opponents, but unlike many players who turn to unsavory tactics to make up for their somewhat lackluster play, he’s an incredibly talented puck-handler and consistent scorer whose antics had a tendency to do more harm than good.
The forward has been on the receiving end of multiple suspensions for slew-footing opponents and other dirty plays, but the man Bruins fans have affectionately dubbed “The Rat King” has also been at the center of some questionable but objectively entertaining incidents—none of which stand out quite like the time he licked Lightnings winger Ryan Callahan during the playoffs in 2018.
That unfolded less than a month after Marchand pulled a similar move with Maple Leafs center Leo Komarov, which reportedly led to the NHL going out of its way to ask him to refrain from licking other players in the future—a message he appeared to take to heart.
On Wednesday, Marchand was named the 27th captain in Bruins history after earning the “C” that became available when Patrice Bergeron announced his retirement over the summer.
According to NESN, Marchand fielded a question about his noticeable maturation over the past few years and admitted The Lick played a big role in his decision to try to stay out of trouble, saying:
“Perhaps that incident with Callahan was kind of those moments where I realized it was kind of getting away from me a little bit.
At the time, I don’t think that really kicked in and made me change at that point in time, but I think over the next couple of years, it definitely was part of the discussions about changing and what my legacy was going to be.”
Marchand may still be rocking slicked-back hair, but I guess I Think You Should Leave was right: people can change.