Leaf of the Day - Apr 1, 2009 - Brad Marsh

Apr 1, 2009 - Brad Marsh

The first season in the existence of the Calgary Flames came when I was in fifth grade.  We all became instant fans, shedding whatever allegiances we'd once had (my Leafs winter coat always had to be worn with two public disclaimers - one, that it was a present from my aunts out east, and two, that I'd had it pre-Flames, which made it exempt from all traitor rules). 

One game fairly early in the season, Kent Nilsson was behind his own net.  He was having the year of his life, finishing third in NHL scoring with 131 points.  Flames defenseman Brad Marsh picked up the puck in front of the goal and decided to flip it over the net to Nilsson, who would surely rush up ice and score.  Easy assist, right?  Marsh turned and, rather than the flipping it as he'd envisioned, rifled one high on Pat Riggin.  A pure sniper's goal, had it been on the oppositon net. 
Brad Marsh was not our favourite person.

Anyway, not too long after that, the Flames announced that the players would all be out visiting local schools.  Nilsson, MacMillan, Lever, Plett, Riggin, Rautakallio - all these guys would be out there in person.  Our school drew what should have been a coup.  We got the captain.

The captain of the 1980-81 Flames was Brad Marsh.

We were all in the gym when Marsh arrived.  He had on a lumberjack shirt, brown cords, Kodiak boots (that style, anyway), enormous glasses (this was 1980-81, after all), hair about three feet wide and three-days' worth of beard.  He went to the podium - zeep, zeep, zeep.

He talked for a while, I don't really remember about what, and then it was question time.  Most of the questions were pretty basic:  "Who do you like to play against?"  ("Winnipeg, because we always win.")  "Does it hurt when they hit you into the boards?"  (*laughs* "Yes.")

And then came the one we'd all been waiting for: "What did Pat Riggin say to you after you scored on your own net?"

"Nice shot, Brad!"

We all got signed pictures.  I still have mine somewhere.

Anyway, Brad left Calgary and we did as well.  I never thought that much about him until 1988, when in the Leafs annual preseason "let's pick someone off the waiver wire" ritual, Brad Marsh joined the Leafs from Philadelphia.

I have to say that having seen Brad in Calgary, I was really impressed with him in Toronto.  He learned a lot in Philadelphia and while he was never the type to make one think of Bobby Orr, he had matured a lot as a player and he helped the Leafs while he was here.  He got his one '88-89 goal on the last game of the season and the whole team was thrilled for him.

As with most defensemen who don't provide a lot offensively, you rarely noticed Brad unless he was getting beat, so that taints the memory for a lot of people.  Still, he played with a lot of enthusiasm and was fun out there.  He managed to be a +14 on the 89-90 team that still gave up a lot more goals than it scored, so he wasn't a real liability on the ice.

In the end, Brad did what all Leaf defensemen must do and went to play for the Red Wings - in his case as part of the great '90-91 housecleaning.  His last call was with Ottawa in their expansion year.  He went to the All-Star game (I think as the veteran invite) and he even scored a goal there.  Outside of the season-opening win against Montreal and the one road win in Long Island, that was probably the best moment of the entire Ottawa season.

His career highlight?  "Anytime I score."  That's a Brad Marsh answer, for sure.

Brad's stats:

OMJHL First All-Star Team (1978)
Played in NHL All-Star Game (1993)

- Claimed by Atlanta as a fill-in during Expansion Draft, June 13, 1979.
- Transferred to Calgary after Atlanta franchise relocated, June 21, 1980.
- Traded to Philadelphia by Calgary for Mel Bridgman, November 11, 1981.
- Claimed by Toronto from Philadelphia in Waiver Draft, October 3, 1988.
- Traded to Detroit by Toronto for Detroit's 8th round choice (Robb McIntyre) in 1991 Entry Draft, February 4, 1991.
- Traded to Toronto by Detroit for cash, June 10, 1992.
- Traded to Ottawa by Toronto for future considerations, July 20, 1992.

the HHOF take on Brad:

There is likely no one who enjoyed playing hockey as much as Brad Marsh. A first-round draft choice of the Atlanta Flames in 1978, he joined the ranks of NHL players that fall, playing all 80 games with the Flames that season. When Atlanta relocated to Calgary for 1980-81, Marsh went with the team up to Alberta and stayed there until he was traded to Philadelphia for Mel Bridgman in November 1981.

Marsh was an exuberant Flyer until the completion of the 1987-88 season. He was picked up by the Maple Leafs in the waiver draft preceding the 1988-89 season. He quickly became a fan favourite. What he lacked in polish, he made up for in enthusiasm. His skating style, almost running on his skates, was awkward, but it got him efficiently from place to place. In a league of conformity, Brad Marsh was one of the last NHL skaters to play without a helmet.

In February 1991, Toronto gave up on Marsh, and he was sent to Detroit in return for an eighth-round draft pick. The Leafs reacquired him in June 1992, but he never played with Toronto this time around, instead, being sent to the Ottawa Senators. But Marsh's popularity never dimmed in Canada's capital, either, and after playing 1992-93 with the Senators, his final season in the NHL, he opened his own bar/restaurant in Ottawa's Corel Centre. Called 'Marshy's,' it is jammed on game nights both before and after Senators' games.

Brad Marsh also had the honour of watching his sweater number retired by the London Knights, the last amateur club with which the popular defenseman played. Brad Marsh will be remembered for his zest for the game of hockey. He certainly won't be recalled as a sniper. Through 1,086 NHL games, Brad Marsh scored a total of 23 goals--a pace of one every 47 games played. Brad Marsh was not blessed with a natural talent to play hockey. But he was born with a strong physique and a copious supply of determination and willingness to work hard. He put those attributes to work, spending four seasons with the London Knights where, in his final campaign, he picked up 63 points and 192 penalty minutes in 62 games. His offensive output and his gritty play set him up as the Atlanta Flames first-round pick of the 1978 Amateur Draft.

Marsh made the jump straight into the NHL and quickly established himself as an honest, lunch-pail defenseman who entertained adoring fans with his likable personality and playing style. He lasted with the Flames until after they moved to Calgary when, in 1982, he was dispatched to Philadelphia.

With the Flyers, Marsh found a stylistic home where, for more than six seasons, he relished his role as a plodding, stay-at-home crease-clearer who helped his team make it to the Stanley Cup finals in 1985 and 1987. The only sour note of his career was the fact that his club fell short of the Grail on both occasions.

In 1988, Marsh joined the Maple Leafs for two-and-a-half entertaining seasons before closing out his career with stints in Detroit and, finally, Ottawa, where he racked up one final, life-long memory. He was selected to represent the Senators at the 1993 All-Star game in which he scored a goal.

In retirement, Marsh stayed on with the Sens' organization to work as the club's Director of Team and Business Development.

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