Marchand explains what pushed him to lick Callahan's face

Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand is known to be one of the most hated player across the National Hockey League, however, he has a long history of on-ice affection....

We all remember during last season's playoffs when Marchand landed himself in hot water when he licked Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Callahan's face. And it had come after he had planted a quick kiss on then Toronto Maple Leaf Leo Komarov's cheek while the two were wrapped up, and had licked him during the first round of the postseason. 

When he was asked about the infraction once the Bruins were eliminated and Marchand had received a serious warning from the league, Marchand had told reporters he’s “got to cut that [expletive] out.”

Now, in an interview with Kathryn Tappen of the NHL on NBC in a Boston pastry, Marchand shared his thought process that took place as he licked Callahan's face and even expressed some regrets on pulling such an antic. 

“His visor was in my face and I was like ‘this will probably piss him off,’ so I tried to do it, tried to get him to hit me and draw a penalty and it kind of went the other way.”

"That was definitely a decision that [you] go back in time and you would play out a little differently.”

Over the past few seasons, Marchand has managed to transform his career from role-playing pest to Bruins leading scorer and MVP candidate and let's hope he can focus on helping the Bruins win another Stanley Cup. 

In the interview though, he still got under someone's skin as he jokingly pranked Jeremy Roenick that he's hanging up the skates.

Marchand will always be Marchand.