Jay Grand noticed the outlet immediately. As general manager of Play It Again Sports, the brand new and used sporting goods chain, in Dedham, Massachusetts, a part of Grand's job is to discover such defects when evaluating items submitted for resale.
However, the outlet on the fitting palm of the Warrior AX1 Pro gloves is tough to miss. It's the dimensions of a silver dollar. There are also two smaller holes below the index and middle fingers.
Holes are a warning sign at Play It Again Sports. They are like mold or missing snaps, buttons or zippers.
When shown a photograph of the glove, Grand said he would decline to buy the pair. Your condition doesn’t qualify for the Play It Again Sports used items rating scale of “good,” “better,” or “best.”
On the opposite hand, the gloves, which Grand deemed worthless and stamped with the wearer's signature, would sell for between $1,000 and $1,500, in response to Phil Castinetti, owner of Sportsworld, a sports memorabilia company in Saugus, Massachusetts.
Brad Marchand, the owner of the gloves, considers them priceless.
Worn and worn
Marchand has an endorsement cope with New Balance, Warrior's parent company. He can get as many gloves as he wants.
Charlie McAvoy has an identical cope with Bauer. The defender changes to a brand new pair of playing gloves roughly every two weeks. He can't imagine one other life.
“If you sweat in them like we did, they get soaked,” McAvoy said. “The leather on the palms is starting to wear down. Plus, it's pretty disgusting how dry they get. Once they are soaked, they become almost crispy. Yes, it's disgusting. A new pair of gloves, the feeling when holding the racket is great. I love new gloves.”
So McAvoy, who changes two pairs every game, doesn't understand why Marchand prefers gloves that seem like they were omitted within the rain, gnawed on by a dog after which run over by a garbage truck.
“Like he was playing with his bare hands,” McAvoy said. “Crazy. I'm like, 'What the hell do you use these things for?' You get them for free.'”
Marchand has the ninth-most goals (416 through Saturday), the Twelfth-most points (961) and the perfect plus-minus (plus-293) of all lively NHL players. He is No. 5 in Bruins history in scoring, behind Ray Bourque, Johnny Bucyk, Patrice Bergeron and Phil Esposito. The captain has racked up points through his tenacity in battles, his relentless pucks, and his powerful shots. Marchand can't help but chew up his warriors, especially the fitting glove that protects his dominant hand.
Marchand's right glove is in particularly bad shape. (Fluto Shinzawa/The Athletic)
This doesn’t make Marchand an exception. Most NHL players wear out their gloves, and not only due to friction between the shaft and the palm. The cycle of sweat-soaked gloves lying on Blademaster dryers at recess described by McAvoy is murder with gloves. Like most players, Marchand dries his gloves after each period.
What's special about Marchand is that he prefers gloves that will never be picked up at flea markets. He scores his best points when his gloves are so worn out that his colleagues would throw them within the trash.
When the Bruins participated within the Winter Classic at Fenway Park on January 2, 2023, the players wore unique gold gloves for the occasion. Marchand refused. Instead, he had his old ones spray painted gold.
“Swampy by far. “It’s not even a question,” Brandon Carlo said of whose gloves are considered the Bruins’ worst. “I've never seen anyone wear gloves like that. He cuts them out. It's missing pads in it. He won’t ever do away with these items. Always.”
Years of work
Marchand is demanding with his equipment. He changes his Warrior sticks almost every game. Every few weeks he raises his hand for a new pair of Bauer skates.
It is a mistake to view Marchand's casual treatment of his gloves as indifference. It's the opposite.
“Because my gloves are so old, the new gloves feel like a big difference on the ice,” Marchand said. “They are so tight compared to my old ones. It's a big difference. I notice them.”
According to his recollection, Marchand has been wearing his current pair of playing gloves since mid-2023/24. It's a deceptive timeline.
He had previously worn the gloves in training for four or five years. That's how long it takes Marchand to break in a pair before he gets them ready to play.
Marchand is currently doing the same thing with his training gloves. They are not perfect in the sense of complete disintegration. But in an emergency they would.
“Not so fast,” Marchand said when asked if he would use them in a game. “But my palms are just falling apart in my playing gloves. So when I get my hands on these again, I need something in the meantime. I've had these exercise equipment for a long time. They would be good for a game. An internship. They wouldn’t be good in the long run.”
On the rare occasions that Marchand requests a new pair, he bends his fingers back, tapes them in place, and forgets about the gloves for a month. Once he peels off the tape, he puts the gloves in a skating oven to bake before wearing them to practice. To speed up the breakdown process, Marchand enlists his assistant coach Chris Kelly to carry her here and there.
That's not all. If you watch Marchand closely on the ice, you'll see flashes of bare wrists and forearms, more than most players care to show. He doesn't like his gloves touching his elbow pads. He also doesn't like the way his jersey sleeves feel on his wrists.
Brad Marchand is showing more skin on his wrists than most NHL players would really like. (Luke Hales/Getty Images)
That's why he shortens the trim on his gloves. Marchand believes its comfort is well worth the risk of injury from a stick or skate.
“I’m high-maintenance,” Marchand admitted.
Marchand has his limits. His previous playing gloves are retired. They are only utilized in emergencies.
“I have the really bad ones,” Marchand said when asked about his backup plan. “I’ll throw these into the mix if they’re not good enough.”
As for his or her condition, even Marchand thinks they’re above his standards.
“It’s bad enough,” he said, “that I don’t want to wear them anymore.”
It can be one thing if Marchand had moth-eaten company across the league. He doesn't.
“It has to be,” Carlo replied when asked if Marchand wore the worst gloves within the NHL. “I don’t know how people use them like that.”
The athlete
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