Brutal reason exposed for Bruins’ losses, even hinting at Brad Marchand leaving Boston

It has been an unexpected bad start to the 2024-25 season for the Boston Bruins that even saw star forward David Pastrnak getting benched by head coach Jim Montgomery earlier this week.

The Bruins added two-time Stanley Cup champion Tyler Johnson to their roster on Monday, hoping to get a boost up front. However, the signing only confirmed one study that has been put out there by a business advocacy group, the Mass Opportunity Alliance. According to the New York Post, the group claims that the Bruins “are losing out on top talent who prefer to play in states with lower taxes so they walk away with more in income.”

The study took four of the last five Stanley Cup winners and seven of the last 10 to make it to the final round, pointing out that they all hailed from no state income tax. They are talking about teams like the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning ans Vegas Golden Knights.

The NY Post goes a bit further and wonders if that could be a major issue in the near future when it comes to re-signing captain Brad Marchand. Marchand is playing out the final year of an eight-year deal worth a very team friendly $6.125 million per year, and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in July. Recent rumours claim that he was offered a three-year deal, which Marchand denied, while other chatter says that both camps cannot agree on term. The Bruins are just coming out of a contract stalemate with goalie Jeremy Swayman and maybe in the end, it’s all about money and that state tax.

“Brad Marchand, the Bruins’ veteran forward, earned $5 million before taxes in the 2023-24 season. But after being levied a state income tax in Massachusetts, his take-home pay was just $2.934 million.

"Had Marchand played for a team in either Nevada, Washington State, Florida or Texas, he would have walked home with $3.3 million, or around $400,000 more, according to MOA.”

The article also points to Pastrnak, who made a financial sacrifice to stay in Boston.

“Pastrnak earned an annual salary of $13 million last season. If he were a member of the Dallas Stars, the Vegas Golden Knights, Seattle Kraken, Florida Panthers or Tampa Bay Lightning, his net income would be $7.97 million.”

This is a lot of maths and pennies to deal with it, but the study comes out at a time when the Bruins are struggling to rack up points. They currently sit fourth in the Atlantic division with a 6-6-1 record and 13 points on the season.

What do you make of this business advocacy group’s analysis of the situation in Boston and the impact it could have on Marchand’s extension?