The uncomfortable reality of Marchand and Boston being separate entities was inevitable after the team fell short a couple of years ago.

Brad Marchand’s hockey afterlife officially began Tuesday morning on Causeway Street, where he returned to the ice for the first time in more than a week, and for the first as an ex-Bruin.

Brad Marchand was asked if he would ever consider returning to the Boston Bruins. His answer was somewhat surprising. Understanding that things didn’t exactly end in Boston the way he would have liked,