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Brad Marchand finally signs with Bruins; Two years, $5 million

Brad Marchand

Boston Bruins’ Brad Marchand watches beer dribble from the Stanley Cup at Tia’s Restaurant in Boston on Thursday, June 16, 2011, one day after the Bruins beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 in Game 7 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

AP

After months of negotiations and even some silly rumors about a potential for a trade, Brad Marchand and the Boston Bruins have figured out a new contract. Marchand, a restricted free agent, signed a two-year, $5 million deal with the Bruins to stay with the team and prevent any bad feelings from starting to develop between he and the organization.

With a cap hit of $2.5 million per season, it’s a perfectly sensible deal for a guy who broke out in a big way last season. Marchand scored 21 goals with 20 assists during the regular season and added another 11 goals and eight assists during the playoffs in helping lead the Bruins to the Stanley Cup. His offense coupled with his skill as a tenacious defensive forward as well as his ability to get under the skin of every opposing player he comes into contact with make him an invaluable player for the Bruins to keep around.

The contract, while not the three year deal Marchand was reportedly looking for, is a great one for the Bruins and another excellent deal done by GM Peter Chiarelli. The deal also functions as a “prove yourself” deal for Marchand. If he can continue to play the way he did last season, he’ll be guaranteed to cash in with a bigger deal in two years. If his production slips, the Bruins won’t be hamstrung by a fat contract and no good way to deal with it.

Smart deals like this one are how the Bruins got to be champions last season and while Marchand is a guy that virtually everyone outside of Boston can’t stand, Bruins fans are going to love having him stick around for two more years to agitate the rest of the league and hope to bring the Bruins back to the Stanley Cup.