Why Does Brad Marchand Care About Who Becomes Ottawa’s Captain?
Brad Marchand has never been accused of wasting an opportunity to stir the pot. If there's a chance to poke somebody, he'll usually take it. So maybe that's all this is. But his little shot at Tim Stützle got me wondering.
Ottawa is trying to decide who will wear the captain's “C” after trading Brady Tkachuk to Florida. Stützle is one of the finalists, along with Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson. Sanderson is reportedly considered the frontrunner, so this isn't even a case of Marchand attacking the guy who is about to become Ottawa's captain. And yet, when Stützle's name came up, Marchand responded with a simple: “Hahahah… Stützle… hahaha.”
That's it. Nothing particularly clever. No explanation. Just enough to make people wonder what the heck he was laughing about.
Related: The Senators Don’t Need Another Brady Tkachuk
Why would Marchand even bother with this question?
That's the part that interests me. Marchand is now in Florida. He's 38 years old. He's got plenty of things to worry about as he prepares for another NHL season. Ottawa isn't his team. Stützle isn't his teammate. There doesn't appear to be a big public feud between the two. So why bother?
Maybe the answer is the obvious one. It's Brad Marchand being Brad Marchand. He sees something on social media, thinks it's funny and takes a shot. End of story. But there's another possibility.
Maybe Marchand simply doesn't see Stützle as a captain. And here's where it gets interesting. Marchand has played against Stützle for years. He's seen him in games that most of us have only seen from the outside. Players notice things about other players that fans don't. How they compete. How they respond when things aren't going well. How they treat teammates. How much they say in the room.
Maybe Marchand has formed an opinion based on all of that.
Or maybe there's something else.
Brady Tkachuk is now Marchand's teammate in Florida. Ottawa has just lost its captain, and Marchand has suddenly decided to laugh at one of the players being considered as his replacement. Could be a coincidence. Could be nothing.
But that's the funny thing about hockey. Sometimes the little comments are more interesting than the big ones. Marchand didn't have to say anything. He chose to. And maybe he was just trolling.
Or maybe Brad Marchand knows something about Tim Stützle that the rest of us don't. That's the question I'd like answered.