Revealed: Marchand's Contract Ask & Bruins' Final Offer

The boys at Spittin' Chiclets have revealed the contract gap that led to the Boston Bruins deciding to trade captain Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers in the most shocking move of the deadline.

According to Paul Bissonnette, the 36-year-old Marchand was asking for $7.5 million a year on a short-term extension, while the Bruins's top offer was $6.3 million, and, per BizNasty, they simply wouldn’t meet him halfway.

The $6.3M AAV is a small fraction above what Marchand has been earning on his eight-year deal that expires after the season ($6.125M).

Marchand had a meeting with (GM) Don Sweeney, and he went in and said 'I love it here, I've been a Bruin my entire career, I'm willing to meet you guys in the middle'. And they would not come up on their offer. I thought that was insane.

You wouldn't give Brad Marchand the same amount you paid Elias Lindholm? That's crazy to me. That's crazy.

Bissonnette's compatriot, Ray Whitney, has this to say:

I think Marchand had every right to be just disgusted. I'm seeing people out there saying, 'Maybe he'll sign back in July (as a UFA).' I'm like, No no no no no. Brad Marchand is no longer a member of the Bruins.

When asked about it on Tuesday, Marchand himself wouldn't close the door on a return.

"I don't know... I don't know what the future brings in terms of how it plays out in the summer."

Marchand recently passed the 20-goal mark for the 12th straight season, now with 21 goals and 47 points in 61 games. But when he comes back from his week-to-week injury, he'll be adding to those totals as a member of the Panthers.

Tuesday morning, we all got a glimpse of exactly what that will look like, as Marchand took to the ice for his first practice as a Panther... Ironically, on the TD Garden ice in Boston, as a visiting player: