Marchand’s Stützle Diss Begs a Question About Marchand’s Worry

Brad Marchand has always been good at stirring the pot, so this probably shouldn’t come as a surprise. Still, his latest jab made me do a double take. After the Senators named Tim Stützle, Thomas Chabot, and Jake Sanderson as candidates to replace Brady Tkachuk as captain, Marchand simply replied, “Hahahah… Stützle… hahaha.”

That’s it. No explanation. No great punchline. Just Marchand laughing at the idea of Stützle wearing the “C.” And maybe that’s all it is. Marchand being Marchand. But often, with him, there’s more going on. This time I have a little “But why?”

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Why would Marchand spend the energy on Stützle?

That’s the part that interests me. Marchand is now in Florida. He’s 38 years old. He’s preparing for another NHL season and has plenty going on without worrying about who the Ottawa Senators decide to make captain.

Ottawa isn’t his team. Stützle isn’t his teammate. And there doesn’t appear to be some big public feud between the two. So why bother?

Maybe Marchand simply doesn’t think Stützle should be captain. Fair enough. He’s played against him for years. He’s seen Stützle in situations most fans have only seen from the outside.

That’s something fans sometimes forget about NHL players. They see things we don’t. And they see how another player competes when things aren’t going well. They see how he responds to teammates, referees and pressure. They hear what gets said in the room. Finally, they know which players command respect and which ones don’t.

Maybe Marchand has formed an opinion about Stützle based on all of that. Or maybe there’s absolutely nothing behind it. I have to wonder if there’s something about Stützle that scares Marchand, given that they’re Atlantic Division rivals. I’m guessing that it’s Marchand’s convoluted way of saying that Stützle is the very Senators player he does NOT want to see wearing the ‘C.’

Then there’s Brady Tkachuk.

This is the other little wrinkle. 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 to replace him. Could be a coincidence. Could be nothing.

But hockey players don’t always say things for no reason. And Marchand certainly didn’t have to jump into this particular conversation. He saw the story. He saw Stützle’s name. And he chose to say something. He picked one player out of the three candidates and laughed at him.

Maybe it was just a joke. That’s probably the safest explanation.

Sometimes it’s the small things that point to the big things with Marchand.

Still, it’s funny how sometimes the smallest comments make you wonder the most. Why Stützle? Why the captaincy? And why did Marchand care enough to say anything at all?

Maybe tomorrow we’ll have a better idea. For now, it’s just another little Marchand mystery.

Related: Brad Marchand Picks Surprising Target to Troll in Tim Stutzle