The Boston Bruins have announced on Monday that they signed
forward Brad Marchand to and eight-year, 49 million-dollar contract extension.
Marchand, 28, is entering the final season of his current four-year
deal. At the end of the 2016-2017 National Hockey League season, he would have
been eligible to become an unrestricted free agent.
During the 2016-2017 season, he set career highs with 37
goals and 61 points in 77 games with the Bruins. Over seven years in the NHL,
he has put up 153 goals and 136 assists.
Marchand said, “This
is an exciting day for me and my family. I would like to thank the Jacobs
family, Cam Neely, Don Sweeney, Claude Julien, the coaching staff, my teammates
and our fans for their continued support and belief in me.”
He continued, “I have
been a Bruin since the start of my pro career and there is no place that would
rather play. I look forward to doing everything I can to help our team achieve success
and bring the Stanley Cup back to Boston.”
He added, “Boston has become my second home. I absolutely
love it there. I am very excited about what is ahead for our team.”
Marchand is currently representing Team Canada at the World
Cup of Hockey. He has put up three goals and two assists while playing on a
line with Pittsburgh Penguins captain, Sidney Crosby and Bruins teammate
Patrice Bergeron.
Canada will face off against Team Europe in the
Best-of-Three finals, beginning Tuesday night, September 27, at 8:00 PM.
In Other News:
The Edmonton Oilers have introduced a new addition to their
organization. For the first time in team 44-year history in the NHL, they will
have a mascot.
The mascot will be Hunter, the Canadian Lynx. It is named
after original team owner, “Wild Bill” Hunter. Hunter will wear the number 72,
for the team’s inaugural season in the NHL.
Edmonton students chose the mascot through a mascot vote.
Hunter then visited a local school to show his appreciation to the students.
As told by the backstory on the Oilers website, he
originated throughout the Edmonton River Valley.
He adds, “Like my lynx
family and friends, I only come out at night to hunt, and one of those nights I
came across a bunch of kids playing hockey on an outdoor rink. One look at the
game and I was hooked. The speed, the skill, the fun! I began climbing up the banks
of the River Valley every night during the winter, catching shinny games with
everyone wearing their Edmonton Oilers jerseys, both old and new. It did not
take me long to become a hard core Oilers fan.”
He also went on to discuss building his den beneath the
Rogers Place. “Just as the finishing
touches were being made to the building, I revealed myself to the Oilers. After
their initial shock of a lynx living in a secret den below Rogers Place, they
quickly realized how HUGE a fan I was, and how committed I was to the team.”
Hunter’s adventures can be followed on Instagram.
“Mr. Hockey,” Gordie Howe was honored on Sunday, in his
hometown of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, with his ashes being interred, along with
his wife Colleen’s, into the statue of him outside of the SaskTel Centre. More
than 50 members of the Howe family attended the ceremony, on “Thank you, Mr.
Hockey Day,” as local officials declared the statue and surrounding area a
cemetery.
During the pre-game
skate of their Western Hockey League game against the Swift Current, members of
the Saskatoon Blades wore jerseys with Gordie Howe’s name and number 9 on them.
Former New York Islander, Bryan Trottier, longtime commentator, Bob Cole and
Howe’s son, Murray, were amongst the speakers at the ceremony.
Murray Howe said, “When you help someone fulfill their
dreams like the town of Saskatoon did for Gordie Howe, you create legends. The
Howe family is humbled by the love that we have seen [and] experienced and my
mom and dad have experienced from Saskatoon all of these years.
Howe has played the most games in the history of the NHL
with 1,767 and is second all-time in goals with 801. He grew up in Saskatoon
before leaving to pursue his hockey career.
