SEATTLE — For three years, Brad Marchand avoided meeting with the NHL Player Safety Department.
The last interaction between the two parties came following a pair of licking incidents with Leo Komarov and Ryan Callahan during the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Marchand didn’t receive any supplemental discipline, but the league put him on notice.
Marchand received a five-game ban for elbowing former New Jersey Devil and eventual teammate Marcus Johansson a few months prior. That marked the last instance of Player Safety handing out supplementary discipline to Marchand before the 2021-22 campaign.
After three seasons of toeing the fine line and providing dazzling on-ice moments, the league finally met with Marchand in late November following an incident with Oliver Ekman-Larsson.