Never one to be shy when it comes to expressing his opinion, Boston Bruins Brad Marchand didn’t shy away from talking about the recent fine to the Washington Capitals after a number of players were caught in a hotel room without proper facemasks on. The Capitals were fined $100k and the team will be missing four players for at least four games. Goaltender Ilya Samsonov has since tested positive for the virus.
Related: Ovechkin, Samsonov, Kuznetsov, Orlov Likely to Miss Next Four Capitals Games
As far as Marchand is concerned, it was completely avoidable what the Capitals players in question did and for anyone else who ends up in the same situation, he feels no sympathy at all for you. He notes there is no reason any NHL player can’t adhere to the NHL COVID Protocol and that the rules aren’t that difficult to follow.
Whether he, any of the Caps players who are now out, or any other player in the NHL agrees with these rules or not, it’s about respecting your teammates, your team, and the league. He notes that Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov, and Samsonov all brought this upon themselves.
As Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now quotes, Marchand explained:
“I think the big thing is, it’s more of a respect thing. We all want to be able to play, and there’s rules put in place for a reason. They’re not that hard to follow. We all know the consequences of breaking the rules, and we know what the rules are. So they brought that on themselves. We’ve all been told very heavily what we’re allowed to do and what we’re not allowed to do, so it is what it is on their side of things.”
This Fine Isn’t About Singling Anyone Out
Murphy laughs off any insinuation that the league might have tried to make an example out of Russian players. Ovechkin’s wife tried to sell that position in a recent Instagram post. As far as Marchand is concerned, he believes it’s simply a matter of respecting the rules.
He added. “You can easily hurt your team by breaking the rules and potentially getting it and having to quarantine. It’s pretty simple to follow the rules. If you get it by chance, it is what it is. It’s almost inevitable. But if you’re going to put yourself in a situation, that’s on you.”
Of course, some will call out Marchand for commenting on things when he doesn’t exactly have the best reputation for respecting the league and the rules. That may be warranted. In this case, it appears he’s got a point.
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