Bergeron, Marchand feature prominently in results of new NHLPA player poll originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
NHL players don’t often enjoy playing against Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand, but many of these same opponents respect his talent and wouldn’t mind being teammates with him.
Marchand is great at getting under opponents’ skin. He’s a pest and an agitator, but there’s much more to his game than that. Marchand is an elite two-way player, someone who has scored at a point-per-game rate or better for six consecutive seasons. He is a top-tier penalty killer, too.
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The results of the annual NHLPA player poll were released Wednesday, and two Bruins were represented. But the only B’s player who received the most votes in a single category was Marchand.
The category was, “Which player do you least enjoy playing against, but would like to have on your team?”
Marchand came in at No. 1 with 36.5 percent of the vote. He has led the voting for this category in each of the last two years. Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid was second at 15.6 percent. Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson (8.1 percent), Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk (six percent) and Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman (3.9 percent) rounded out the top five.
Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron was second in the voting for “most complete player.” The veteran center finished with 18.8 percent of the vote. Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby was No. 1 with 30.1 percent of the vote.
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Bergeron received the fifth-most votes (1.5 percent) in the category of, “In a must-win game, which forward do you think would be most impactful?” McDavid finished first, with Crosby in second, Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon in third and Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov in fourth.
Marchand and Bergeron have been one of the league’s top duos for a decade, and even at age 34 and 37, respectively, they continue to perform at an elite level and garner a huge amount of respect from their peers.
A couple other Bruins players received votes in the “off-ice” categories. Bruins forward Nick Foligno was fifth in the voting for “Which NHL player is the best guy in the locker room?” Bruins forward David Pastrnak finished second in the voting for “Who has the best shoe game?”
