Brad Marchand's Viral Comment Sparks Speculation About Joining the Maple Leafs

There's a lot of talk regarding where Brad Marchand is going to end up next season as he becomes a free agent on July 1. He could very easily re-sign with Florida, though it would put them in a bit of a cap crunch, and he'll have plenty of suitors on the open market.

One of those teams are the Toronto Maple Leafs and with the departing Mitch Marner plus a need to change their DNA as Brad Treliving put it; adding Marchand would give them the offense, grit and change the team is looking for.

He seems to at least have some mutual interest, as he was very complimentary of the team during the second round, and is a self-processed Leafs fan. But his latest venture on social media seems to take that interest to a whole new level.

First, the image was a quote from Maple Leafs analyst Nick Kypreos who stated he believes that it's fairly certain that Marchand will end up in Toronto.

Kypreos was talking on the Leafs Morning Take podcast and was oddly confident that Marchand would sign in Toronto, given their need for change and the fact they can offer a lot of money:

Then Marchand decided to chip in with a comment, stating that he might need to give the people what they want.

It's a very surprising statement that some could view as a troll job from the recent Staney Cup Champion, however there does seems to be a lot of good things Toronto can offer their long-time nemesis.

Bringing in someone who was such a notorious threat for years would not only help the Maple Leafs get him off their back, but also give them a serious playoff performer.

Marchand, 36, is still a reliable and consistent regular season performer though his numbers aren't as high as they were previous.

But where he shines is the playoffs, and his 158 points in 180 games in the postseason are some of the best numbers in the modern era.

In 23 games this postseason he put up 20 points (10G, 10A) including three game-winners and a plus-17 rating.

The best way to bring someone of that caliber in is to not only give him a lot of money (a deal worth $7.5-8-million would be his highest AAV ever) and stack endorsements on top of that, but also give him a chance to do something different.

He's done it all, he's won with dominant teams, and the Leafs could look at him as their savior when it comes to ending their Stanley Cup drought. That's an enticing proposition, and while Marchand doesn't have a huge ego; it does make you feel important.

So it's going to take a lot of money and convincing for Brad Marchand to come over, but there seems to be mutual interest, and we could be one step closer to a massive signing.