Team hoping to sign pending UFA prior to start of season.

The Boston Bruins know that they can't afford to lose Brad Marchand.

Cam Neely, along with the rest of the Bruins' brass, made it abundantly clear that reaching an extension with their star winger is their number one priority this offseason. The Bruins were able to keep Marchand at a current cap hit of $4.5 million, but he is due for a significant raise after enjoying a career year during the 2015-16 campaign.

"We'd like to get Brad signed. We've made that clear to him, and we've made that clear to his agency. I know Don (Sweeney) has been working with their group to get a deal done," Neely told CSNNE's Joe Haggerty. "We'd like to get something done before the start of the season."

Marchand is currently busy representing Team Canada at the World Cup of Hockey, but you can be certain that negotiations will begin shortly after the tournament ends.

For a team that is looking to return to playoff contention after missing the playoffs for two straight seasons, they can ill afford to lose last season's leading goal-scorer.

Marchand notched a career-high 37 goals and 60 points last season and is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July.1.

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