"Little embarrassing on my behalf": When Brad Marchand had to clear the air with Marcus Johansson after his trade to Bruins

By R. Nikhil Parshy

Modified Mar 23, 2025 08:13 GMT

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In 2019, when Marcus Johansson was traded to the Boston Bruins from the New Jersey Devils, people anticipated some drama with fellow forward Brad Marchand with whom he had some history. In the previous season, Marchand had elbowed Johansson in a game that kept him out of action for 28 games.

In the third period of the game on Jan. 23, 2018, Marchand's elbow caught Johansson on the face in front of the Devils goal. The hit jolted the Swedish forward who immediately fell to the ground holding his face. Marchand was suspended by NHL's Department of Player Safety for five games and was fined in excess of $373k.

When he returned to practice after the hit, Johansson called out the Bruins forward.

"It was stupid. There's nothing else to say about it," Johannson said. "There was no point in doing that. There was no hockey play there whatsoever. I think it's sad to see that there's still guys out there that are trying to hurt other guys."

But time healed the situation in this case. When Johansson was traded in February 2019, Marchand called his new teammate and cleared the air.

“It was a very bad hit and also with how everything played out after, I wanted to touch base,” Marchand had said. “He’s very mature about the situation and handled it great. A little embarrassing on my behalf the way it played out.”

Johansson also chose to move past the incident:

“That’s water under the bridge."

Bruins GM Don Sweeney had hoped for reconciliation between the pair

Since the incident was still fresh in the minds of the people involved when Johansson got traded, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney made it a point to question the winger about it.

Johansson responded:

"I'd much rather be playing with Marchand than against."

Sweeney said he hoped the two players had gotten rid of any bad blood.

"I mean, in the moment, it's not great, it's not great for the player. March felt bad about it. He wasn't trying to hurt a player. And he paid the price for that. But hockey players are ... I've seen a lot of tough guys have a beef and then go out and have a beer afterwards.

"So I think it'll be perfectly fine and March will be the first one to welcome him aboard. That's the teammate that he is."

Johansson's stay with the Bruins was short. He lasted half a season before signing with the Buffalo Sabres. He did, however, play a crucial role in the third line to get the team to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2019.