Brad Marchand: 'I'll Lick A Guy,' But Putting Emoji On Hockey Stick Is Over The Line

By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) -- 'Tis the season for rather strange commentary from hockey superstars.

With the Bruins gearing up for the Winter Classic on New Year's Day, there's some extra attention being paid to some of the aspects of professional hockey that often get overlooked. From goalie mask paint jobs, to practice jersey designs, everything is newsworthy when the Winter Classic is involved.

One of those stories involves the stick of David Pastrnak. Matt Porter of The Boston Globe got the nitty-gritty details of that Bauer stick, which includes some images of Notre Dame Stadium, the acronym YOLO, the skylines of Boston and Prague, a quote from Gladiator, and the emoji that shows a plate of pasta. Anyone who's been on Twitter whenever Pastrnak scored a goal knows that the emoji has become frequently used in Boston in recent years.

But not everyone on the Bruins is a fan of the stick, as Brad Marchand offered up the following commentary to Porter:

"I would never put an emoji on my stick. I have way more self-respect than that. But I'll lick a guy."

You know, no matter what might happen in the actual game, that's probably going to go down as the quote of the week out of the Bruins.

In case you're somehow not getting the reference:

Marchand -- with his wry, biting sense of humor -- was obviously just taking a playful jab at his teammate and regular linemate. A comment like that from Marchand is always made with tongue planted firmly in cheek. The Blackhawks -- and the NHL -- have to hope that tongue stays there on New Year's Day.

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• Boston Bruins
• NHL
• Brad Marchand