BOSTON - When the Boston Bruins lost captain Zdeno Chara and alternate captain Patrice Bergeron to month-long injuries in mid-November, they needed someone new to wear an "A."

And in a decision that surprised some observers, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy slapped the letter on forward Brad Marchand’s sweater. Yes, the same Marchand who's been suspended and fined by the NHL on numerous occasions, and who'd recently shown up officials by mocking Nashville Predators forward Colton Sissons for embellishing a high-sticking penalty, earning an additional 12 minutes in the box.

"I picked (Marchand) to show that he's a leader, and maybe that'll help him with the refs a little bit if they see that," Cassidy told theScore.

Things didn't start well. After receiving a questionable slashing penalty against the Dallas Stars during his first game wearing the "A," Marchand earned an additional 10-minute misconduct for "waving the white flag" with a towel on his stick - not exactly the behavior expected from those in leadership positions.

"There's times when things go right or things go wrong. I think that things just happen, and I was ending up in the box," Marchand told theScore. "I was definitely retaliating for some things and maybe I wasn’t happy enough with my game or how things were going."

Indeed, Marchand went into a slump when Bergeron was injured, scoring just once in the first 11 games without his linemate. But then - more importantly - he also began to stay calm.

In fact, Marchand hasn't been whistled for a major infraction or misconduct since the Dallas game, and he's spent just two minutes in the penalty box over his last 13 appearances.

"I feel a lot more in tune with my control, my emotions, and stuff like that," Marchand said of his newfound discipline. "Out on the ice, I don’t feel like I’m getting as heated as I was early in the season."

It's a key development for Marchand, who's one of the NHL's most productive players - he entered the All-Star break with 19 goals and 53 points - but who's also served six suspensions and paid three fines since breaking into the league (not to mention his involvement in many more confrontations, including the infamous licking incidents from last year's playoffs, which drew a warning from director of hockey operations Colin Campbell).

"(Staying calm) can easily change in a split second but I wasn't doing a very good job of being disciplined for the group or the team early on," Marchand continued. "So I definitely had to be better at that. I feel that I have been the last little bit. I can’t be in the box every game."

The Bruins certainly hope those split seconds will take place less and less as the 30-year-old Marchand matures. And there's optimism that he can make it happen given his burning desire to succeed, which has already carried him further than most expected.

__________

Considering all the notoriety Marchand's gained since becoming an NHL regular eight years ago, it’s hard to believe he once flew under the radar.

Nova Scotia-based performance coach J.P. MacCallum was there during the forward's humble beginnings - long before the 30-goal seasons, the 2011 Stanley Cup championship, the 2016 World Cup of Hockey gold medal, and the much-publicized run-ins with NHL disciplinarians.

"It's certainly been a wild ride with Brad," MacCallum told theScore.

"It’s been 17 years now, 17 offseasons that we’ve worked together. So starting with when he was a 13-year-old, at the Bantam level in Nova Scotia. He always had the competitive spirit. … You saw the competitive factor, he was a good player, but there was nobody that would've said at the time that he was going to play in the NHL.”

As an undersized player coming up just before the NHL's evolution into a smaller man's game, Marchand wasn't an obvious target for scouts. Still, he committed to proving himself and saw that hard work pay off as a second-round selection in the 2004 QMJHL Draft, and then as a third-round pick (71st overall) by the Bruins in the 2006 NHL Draft. His junior career was highlighted by an 80-point season with Val-d'Or in 2006-07 and two selections to Team Canada's world junior rosters, leading to a pair of gold medals.

"And still the doubters were always there," MacCallum recalled. "The guy that never doubted was Brad. 'I’m going to make it, I'm going to make it, I’m going to do it.' He competes hard for everything and he hasn't stopped. That's what got him on the Bruins and what keeps him there and made him an elite player in the world.”

While following in the footsteps of smaller players like Theo Fleury and Martin St. Louis, Marchand - now listed at 5-foot-9 and 181 pounds - has worked to cancel out his size disadvantage by improving his elusiveness. And to do so, Marchand and MacCallum designed workouts that largely target the forward's legs.

“I think in hockey if you look at a lot of the guys, their body makeup, a lot of them have very big lower bodies,” Marchand said. “That’s a focus nowadays. Before I think a lot of guys worried about their strength and getting big and strong, but the game, the way it is now, it’s all speed and endurance and skill, so you know it’s pretty much all legs.”

Scouts and coaches alike marvel at Marchand’s ability to win battles in tight areas and to pull up on rushes to make plays. The drills he does and the videos he watches - often of other players around league - help him improve and conjure up new moves every summer. In 2015-16, he cracked 30 goals for the first time and finished with 37. That earned him a spot on Team Canada for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, but Marchand wasn’t satisfied with just being named to the elite team.

“If it was possible, his focus sharpened even more (heading into the World Cup)," MacCallum said. "I think he really got a taste of, 'Now I can do it.' Not that he ever doubted himself, but he knew he needed a little bit more focus in the offseason - a little bit more work on his on-ice focus in the offseason could take him to that next level. And when you’ve already got a guy that’s ultra-competitive and finds a way to dial it in even more, you see incredible results.”

Amid a star-laden Team Canada roster at the World Cup, Marchand wound up playing on a top line with Bergeron and Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby. He helped lead the team to gold while recording seven points in 10 games.

Marchand's positive momentum continued in the NHL, as he scored 39 goals for Boston the following season and another 34 in 2017-18. This year, he's on pace to surpass 30 yet again.

__________

There are other sides to Marchand beyond the dynamic two-way player and the noted super-pest. There's the Marchand who paid for a family to attend the 2016 NHL All-Star weekend, which is the same Marchand who once rescheduled a summer training session with MacCallum to work with a young, aspiring player instead.

"He shows this 12-year-old kid, 'Wow, this is what it takes, this guy’s doing it,'" MacCallum said. "And (the kid is) completely baffled that an NHLer is his training partner for the day. But (it was) an incredible experience that kid will never forget."

These days, Marchand's also a family man, as he got married in 2015 and gained a stepson in the process. Now with a young daughter as well, his new responsibilities off the ice are contributing to his maturity as a player.

“It’s no coincidence, you’re committed to a partner at the same time you’re committed to a family. ... I think (it) only increased his focus," MacCallum said.

For their part, the Bruins previously showed faith in Marchand's development by inking him to an eight-year, $49-million contract extension in September 2016 - 10 months before he could’ve become an unrestricted free agent. The deal all but assured Marchand would be a big part of the team for years to come, and it came with the hope that his maturity would catch up to his skill set.

It appears he's now taking that step by accepting a bigger leadership role with the Bruins. It earned him the "A" during Bergeron's absence, and the leadership ability was evident when Marchand took the lead in personally addressing 21-year-old defenseman Charlie McAvoy's tardiness issues this season.

To Marchand's teammates, this side of his persona was always present, but it was often hidden beneath his public image.

"He’s certainly the clown still, but he sometimes wears a different hat while he’s in the clown suit," David Backes, another one of Boston's alternate captains, told theScore.

"He’s a guy that on the ice, he’s got some antics, but they're good-intentioned to help our team win or try to distract the opponent. And when you’re outside the circle and you’re looking at it, especially if you’re not a Boston fan, he's annoying and he’s a pest and you throw darts at his picture on a dartboard perhaps.

“But when you’re in the room, those guys tend to be the best teammates and he’s not an exception there. He cares about his teammates, he’ll do anything for you, and he’s a 'win at all cost' kind of guy, and you love those kind of guys.”

Of course, you don’t reach the heights Marchand's reached without exhausting all means to get there. And it's an approach that will probably push him over the line again, regardless of how hard he tries to stay out of trouble. On the other hand, Cassidy's decision to hand over an "A" - even a temporary one - showed that Marchand's leadership skills and discipline are trending in the ideal direction.

"It’s going to be a process and I’m not going to sit here and say that I’m not going to make mistakes, because I’m not going to promise the world and not deliver,” Marchand added. "So, it's a fine line that I got to watch and work on, and hopefully things can play themselves out the right way.”

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have traded defenseman Jamie Oleksiak to the Dallas Stars in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2019 draft, the teams announced Monday.

Coincidentally, the Penguins acquired Oleksiak from the Stars in December 2017 for the same cost.

Oleksiak was a first-round pick (14th overall) of the Stars in 2011 and spent the first six seasons of his career in Dallas, racking up 22 points in 140 games.

In Pittsburgh, the towering blue-liner appeared in 83 regular-season contests, with 25 points to his credit.

Oleksiak signed a three-year contract with the Penguins in July and carries a $2,137,500 cap hit until 2020-21.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Artemi Panarin's agent wants a second meeting with his client before informing the Columbus Blue Jackets of the forward's attitude toward negotiating a new contract, according to The Athletic's Aaron Portzline.

Dan Milstein met with Panarin in Miami during All-Star weekend to discuss the pending unrestricted free agent's future, a plan that was first reported in November.

The meeting holds significant weight for the Blue Jackets, as Panarin already informed the club prior to training camp that he wouldn't negotiate a contract extension in-season.

If the 27-year-old doesn't have an interest in staying in Columbus, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen will have to work swiftly to deal the dynamic winger before the Feb. 25 trade deadline or risk losing him for nothing in the offseason. The team could also opt to keep him for a playoff run.

Panarin is putting together another outstanding campaign, leading the Blue Jackets with 53 points in 46 games. He carries a $6-million cap hit.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Edmonton Oilers were close to acquiring two-time All-Star defenseman Ryan McDonagh in a 2016 deal, according to a report from Larry Brooks of the New York Post.

Less than a week after Peter Chiarelli was fired as general manager of the Oilers, new details have emerged regarding a potential move that could have altered the club's future.

According to Brooks' sources, the foundation of the trade would have sent McDonagh, a member of the New York Rangers at the time, to the Oilers in exchange for the fourth overall selection in the 2016 NHL draft.

Talks reached a serious stage according to Brooks, but the deal failed to come to fruition, as Chiarelli held onto the pick and selected Finnish prospect Jesse Puljujarvi instead.

Though underwhelming with 37 points in 132 career games so far, Puljujarvi was a consensus top lottery pick, making the decision defensible even three years after the fact. It's what came later that has left a sour taste for Oilers fans, and makes this latest revelation more difficult to grasp.

Less than a week removed from their chance to nab McDonagh, the Oilers made a bold gamble by shipping star forward Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils for defenseman Adam Larsson.

The decision to pass on McDonagh and trade Hall, has set Edmonton back at both ends of the ice. Hall went on to capture a Hart Trophy as league MVP, while Larsson has failed to round into form for a young and vulnerable defense core.

The Oilers currently own the league's 19th ranked offense and 23rd ranked defense, with 144 goals for and 163 against this season, despite rostering the game's top talent in Connor McDavid.

For a team that's been mired by poor judgement, this latest discovery adds to the Oilers' laundry list of sliding door moments.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New Jersey Devils star Taylor Hall skated before team practice on Sunday for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury, according to NJ.com's Chris Ryan.

“He’s really trying to work through some things to feel better,” Devils coach John Hynes said. “He is progressing. It’s just not at the rate we or he would have liked or anticipated.”

The reigning Hart Trophy winner has been sidelined since Dec. 23 and has missed the team's last 13 contests. New Jersey is 7-7-1 without Hall in the lineup this season.

Despite the time missed, the 27-year-old winger remains second in team scoring with 37 points in 33 games. He earned the fifth All-Star selection of his career but was replaced at the event by teammate Kyle Palmieri, as the injury kept him from participating.

The Devils headed into the All-Star break fresh off a bye week, and are slated to play their first contest in nine days on Monday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

SAN JOSE - At its core, the NHL's All-Star weekend is designed to remind.

It reminds us that hockey is a sport worth celebrating and that there's nobody better to celebrate with than thousands of young fans. It reminds us that the players in attendance - oftentimes cliche-spouting robots - are actually human. In vacation mode at the midseason showcase, their guards are down. The result: tales of cheetah bites, videos of former teammates riding scooters, and revelations of totally-unrelatable-slash-awesome bets.

And this year, although not by design, per se, the weekend also reminded us of the brilliance of Sidney Crosby, Henrik Lundqvist, Pekka Rinne, Blake Wheeler, and Brent Burns. The old dudes - which in the modern NHL includes anybody 30-plus - might count as the minority group nowadays, having already handed over the keys to millennials and Generation Z'ers. But they're still kicking.

Especially Crosby, whose eight points in two three-on-three games earned him MVP honors in the main event. He reminded us that, hey, this 31-year-old three-time Stanley Cup winner, currently overshadowed by Connor McDavid's generational talent, is building a case for yet another piece of hardware. There's no defending during All-Star weekend, yet Crosby's mere presence brought the Selke Trophy debate to the forefront.

Adding a Selke to his robust award collection - two Harts, two Rocket Richards, two Conn Smythes, two Art Rosses, three Lester B. Pearsons/Ted Lindsays - is not beyond the realm of possibility for Crosby. The #Sid4Selke campaign is officially underway.

"I'd like to be in the conversation, for sure," Crosby said of the annual honor for the league's top defensive forward. "I mean, I think your play has to earn that. Anyone can say that, but I think I definitely want to be known as a player who's responsible defensively. I want to be good offensively, but do it the right way. And I think for the most part this year that's been the case."

A lengthy breakdown of Selke candidates is a task for another day (spoiler: the list would include usual suspects Aleksander Barkov and Patrice Bergeron). In the meantime, here's a quick snapshot of Crosby's 2018-19 season through 48 games:

In his 700-plus minutes at 5-on-5, the Penguins have owned 70 percent of the goals, 58 percent of the scoring chances, and 56 percent of the shot attempts, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. In all situations, he's won 52 percent of his faceoffs and is a plus-four in penalty differential. All this while producing 57 points in 20:42 of ice time a night.

In passing, that sounds Selke-worthy.

Tension following Oilers everywhere

On one hand, the All-Star break couldn't have come at a better time for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Less than a week after polarizing general manager Peter Chiarelli received his pink slip, the Oilers' best players escaped the Edmonton bubble for a few days with the team now on its bye week.

On the other hand, the timing of Chiarelli's dismissal wasn't ideal for Edmonton's stars, given all the media responsibilities and public appearances associated with the All-Star festivities. Though questions tended to focus on levity, there was no avoiding the debacle back home.

"It is what it is," Draisaitl told theScore following the Pacific Division's elimination from Saturday's three-on-three tournament. "We're responsible for what's going on there, no one else. We've got to find ways to win hockey games. That's all we have to do."

McDavid - who rarely cracks a smile when the cameras are on, regardless of circumstance or his team's performance - squirmed in his seat during media day. "Oh. My God," he said Thursday as Edmonton-related questions eased into lighter topics. "I was gonna get off the seat, it was so hot. I love the three-on-three."

The Oilers are off until Feb. 2, when they visit Philadelphia to face the Flyers and begin a stretch of five games in eight days. Based on the jammed-up Western Conference standings, the season could quickly get away from Edmonton if it stumbles in the early going of the post-break schedule. But nothing's been decided yet.

"We're three points out of a playoff spot," McDavid noted a day before winning the Fastest Skater competition. "I think that gets lost. I think that really is lost. We're going through a lot of different changes, but we're three points out and have a chance to make the playoffs."

Players not caught up in tracking buzz

It turns out the league's new toy, the player and puck tracking system unveiled over the weekend, isn't at the forefront of players' thoughts.

Asked about the pros and cons of the investment in microchip technology, with a full rollout scheduled for the 2019-20 season, many All-Stars shrugged. Others admitted they were simply uneducated on the topic of tracking in general. The players' reactions are slightly surprising, considering it's their on-ice data being collected and shared with the world.

"To be completely honest, I haven't done much homework on the whole concept," Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos said. "I was around when ESPN or FOX used to do the puck tracker (in the 1990s), back when we had standard-definition TV and no one could see the puck. I think we've come a long way from that."

Like most of his peers, Stamkos sees the benefits of tracking from a fan engagement perspective and as a tool for broadcasters and media. But he added, "We don't know exactly how that information is going to be used yet." (The NHL and NHLPA have agreed that tracking data will be exempt from the contract negotiation process, including arbitration hearings, according to deputy commissioner Bill Daly.)

Florida Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle admitted not knowing a single thing about the matter. Even some of the game's most studious competitors, like Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets and the St. Louis Blues' Ryan O'Reilly, aren't jumping for joy. Despite the buzz, tracking seems very blah for players.

"I'm not a big fan of it," O'Reilly said. "As a player, there's so much feel involved in the game … there's certain reads you have that I don't think a device can assess. That's one of the things I love about the sport."

NBC incorporated tracking data into its broadcast for the three-on-three tournament. From the bench, Scheifele thought it looked too busy and drew attention away from the on-ice action.

"If I'm going to watch a game I like it to all be gone," he said of the name tags, zone time, skating speed, and other advanced stats. "Just because I'd rather see everything that's going on in (the game itself). When you start showing a bunch of random stats it might trick the eyes a little bit."

All-Star weekend brings out the best

To close the book on the weekend, here are 10 bests:

1. Best quote - Kendall Coyne Schofield on making history in the Fastest Skater event

"I would say, especially to young girls and to women, follow your dreams and believe in yourselves and there is nothing you can't accomplish. I think tonight was an example of that."

2. Best mess - Prize allocation following passing challenge

After challenging Draisaitl for the best time in the Premier Passer skills event, Brianna Decker ended up getting her prize - $25,000 from CCM and another $25K from the NHL earmarked for charity. But the process by which she received it (#PayDecker) was a little awkward. Social media took the NHL to task for a few hours there.

3. Best impression - King Henrik, of course

Lundqvist charms 'em all. As Yandle noted during a Saturday Q&A with fans at the All-Star fan festival, the Rangers netminder is seemingly perfect. An excellent puck-stopper, a musician, handsome as hell, and super nice. "When you look at him you think maybe he's a jerk," Yandle joked. Yet he's not.

4. Best projectile - Something fishy from the upper deck

Predators fans travel well. Case in point, the catfish that thumped onto the ice after Nashville captain Roman Josi netted a three-on-three goal.

5. Best throwback - Vancouver trip an eye-opener for Californian hockey

Striking up a conversation over morning coffee, a middle-aged Sharks fan from Sacramento, Calif., said he remembers going to Vancouver for a minor hockey tournament as a kid and being blown away by one particular thing. After he and his teammates showed up for their game and were unable to find their dressing room, someone told them they were in the wrong rink. They all stared at each other with puzzled looks and thought, 'There's another rink in Vancouver?!' Oh, how the times have changed for hockey in California, now home to three NHL teams, a handful of NHL players, and dozens of local arenas.

6. Best superstition - O'Reilly on the craziest ritual he's witnessed

"I remember a guy I played with at the international level ... every door he walked through he had to touch the left, the top and the right side of it. I remember watching and thinking that's got to be exhausting. Every door."

7. Best jersey - No. 36, Atlanta Thrashers

Spotted outside the SAP Center on Saturday afternoon among a sea of McDavids, Karlssons, and Crosbys: An Eric Boulton jersey. How incredibly random.

8. Best stamina - Gritty never stops

The orange muppet of your nightmares is the meme that keeps on giving. Gritty was omnipresent in Silicon Valley; the wobbling bundle of energy was the subject of countless selfies and a star in the mascot hockey game.

9. Best imitation - NFL influences NHL

Upon entry to Thursday's main media availability, fans received a headset so they could listen to players' answers at their respective podiums. An idea borrowed from Super Bowl media day, it seemed to be a hit.

10. Best memory - Sharks fans don't forget

Among those booed mercilessly by the hometown crowd: John Tavares, for not signing with the Sharks as a free agent; divisional rivals John Gibson and Drew Doughty; and Crosby, whose Penguins won the 2016 Stanley Cup in San Jose.

John Matisz is theScore's National Hockey Writer. You can find him on Twitter @matiszjohn.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Former Tampa Bay Lightning forward Vincent Lecavalier was one of three people sent to a Tampa Bay hospital following an accident that involved three buses Saturday.

The accident occurred around 1:40 p.m. on the Selmon Expressway when the lead bus was hit as it slowed down to exit the toll road by a trailing second bus, the Florida Highway Patrol said, according to Fox 13 News. A third bus then ran into the back of the second bus.

All three buses were en route to Tampa's annual Gasparilla parade.

The three passengers sent to the hospital all sustained minor injuries. Lecavalier's agent, Kent Hughes, said the 38-year-old is OK, according to Stephen Whyno of The Associated Press.

Two drivers have been cited for careless driving in relation to the incident, according to the Florida Highway Patrol's accident report, per Fox 13 News.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.