The Toronto Maple Leafs fell to the Boston Bruins in Game 7 and Bruins captain Brad Marchand seemingly took a dig at the Leafs in his post-game interview.
After eliminating the Toronto side in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Marchand was asked how his group managed to come out on top in Game 7.
“Just belief,” Brad Marhchand said. “Um, you know, we’ve, we’ve believed in our group all year, and, uh, that didn’t change.”
Marchand appeared to reference the Leaf’s motto, “Be Leaf,” in the post-game interview and NHL fans found this hilarious.
They were quick to spot the subtle jibe thrown by the Bruins captain and were in splits in the comment section of the post.
Following are some fan reactions on X and Twitter:
“God he know how to be a real villain.”
“Omg he really said it 🤣🤣”, wrote another user with a couple of laughing emojis.
“Bro cooked em,” quipped another.
Fans found his remark amusing. While the player may not have originally intended to reference the Leafs’ tagline in the interview, fans were loving it.
“I love how Marchand said, “belief” but because he lives in everyone’s head rent free, they all think he said “BeLeaf”, wrote one fan.
“Checkmate by Brad Marchand,” another fan wrote.
“Marchand owns the liberal leafs,” commented one user.
Brad Marchand opens up on overcoming ghosts of the past
In the same interview, Brad Marchand was asked about the emotional state of his team following their series victory and if he had thought about their previous experience of surrendering a 3-1 series lead to the Florida Panthers last year.
“Yeah, I did, especially with how much it was talked about,” Marchand replied. “But, you know, again, we really tried, not just right now, but all year to stay in the moment. And we did a really good job at that.
“No matter what happened, they’re a hell of a team. We knew they were gonna push. And they did. They played a hell of a series. But good to stay in the moment there.”
Marchand acknowledged that last year’s failure was difficult to forget, but they remained focused on the present throughout the season. Despite the pressure and might of the Leafs, they maintained their composure and remained focused on the task at hand.
The Bruins captain also discussed the confidence and determination of teammate David Pastrnak, noting that he was fully prepared and focused on having a great performance on the night, which Pastrnak did by netting an OT winner in the series-clinching game.
