Brad Marchand said he believes the NHL is talking out of both sides of its mouth when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marchand, the left-winger for the Bruins, tweeted a lengthy diatribe essentially calling bulls–t on the NHL for allowing taxi squads to bolster against game cancellations, yet blocking its players from participating in the upcoming Winter Olympics.
“The @NHL and @nhlpa can change the rules of the CBA to add a taxi squad so that they don’t miss any games and lose any money,” Marchand wrote on Twitter. “Which has already been agreed upon that the players will pay back in escrow until the owners are made whole from what they have lost during this pandemic, regardless of how many games are missed…
“Yet they can’t do a taxi squad during The Olympics so they can honor the agreement they made so the NHL players can go… please tell me that’s not bulls–t… and for all of you who want to pipe back about forfeiting pay while being gone … ah not a problem .. let players make their choice.”
Marchand is one of the league’s most controversial players. Known as a pest on the ice, he had a glove thrown in his face by Rangers winger Artemi Panarin last month after some trash talking.
However, he appears not be on his own here. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan tweeted that Marchand “says out loud what a lot of his peers have been stewing over privately: the Olympic decision still doesn’t sit well with many NHL players.”
The NHL earlier this week approved provisions where teams could have up to a six-player taxi squad from the minor leagues they can utilize in a COVID-19 roster emergency.
You can see the NHL’s side, as games get canceled right and left, wanting to protect their own revenue first. You can also see why players such as Marchand would be disappointed at missing out on the Olympics, which only come along once every four years.
Post a Comment