Many tears were shed, and Brad Marchand just announced his departure to the board in four words.
After leaving Boston, a Bruins defenceman delivers a message to “day one’s”
On the first day of free agency, the Bruins lost two key players when Jake DeBrusk joined the Vancouver Canucks and Matt Grzelcyk joined the Pittsburgh Penguins. Charlie McAvoy, who has been teammates with both players since entering the league in the 2017–18 campaign, posted a touching tribute on Instagram to two of his closest pals.
McAvoy wrote, “My day one’s right here,” as the caption for the trio’s pictures. “I’m amazed at how quickly time has passed since 2017.” I never took the opportunity to play with my two closest friends for granted.
“This game introduces you to a lot of people, and while those relationships might not endure forever, friendships do,” the message went on. “I’m thankful for all of the lifelong memories. You two will do amazing feats in this upcoming chapter, I’m sure! Before parting ways, Grzelcyk and McAvoy enjoyed almost ten years of playing together at Boston University. They were two amazing basketball players.
After playing for the Bruins for his first seven seasons, DeBrusk inked a seven-year contract with the Canucks. Meanwhile, Grzelcyk agreed to a one-year contract with Pittsburgh. The defenseman, who had his worst season of the year in 2023–24, will now try to recover and assist the Penguins in making a run at the postseason.
However, McAvoy now has a new blue linemate as Boston inked Nikita Zadorov to a six-year contract this week.
