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The Mammoth was ready to give Brad Marchand $10 million a year
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

In the weeks leading up to the free agent process, the buzz was that Brad Marchand was in it for the money.

If a team was willing to offer him big money, chances were good the veteran would consider the team in July. That was the vibe for Marchand.

It was his right to choose such an avenue or not.

Signing for $32 million (an amount that had been circulating in his case) in Florida, at age 37, is in keeping with this mentality. Yes, the contract is for six years… but we all know that’s a ruse, since he won’t be playing until he’s 43.

That said, he could have had even more money.

According to Jimmy Murphy, who writes for RG media, the Utah Mammoth was more than willing to bring Marchand to town if he’d wanted to explore that possibility.

In fact, the “new Coyotes” (who spend quite a bit more than the former Arizona club) would have been willing to put up $10M a year, according to a Murphy source.

Over four years, that would have been $40M for the veteran. Yes, the club wants to take it to the next level and potentially offering double the Panthers in terms of salary cap is intense.

Clearly, Marchand is seen as a game-changer for a team. The Maple Leafs, for example, also had Marchand as a priority on their list, according to Chris Johnston.

But Marchand never achieved autonomy. Instead, he stayed with the Panthers, in an environment he’s grown to love over the past few months, to fight for the Stanley Cup once again.

And it’s hard to blame him.


overtime

– Habs management is also on site.

– Interesting.

– We’re keeping an eye on him.

– Why not?

– Nice.

– We love it.

This article first appeared on Dose.ca and was syndicated with permission.

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