There are places that Brad Marchand wants to go, to see: The Wonders of the World, Italy, Greece, places where hockey is usually not much more than a whisper. Places that his wife, Katrina, would like to travel. Places that Sloan, his son, would like to visit.

The time for that is not now. Not yet.

Marchand cannot chance a week -- or more -- without a gym, without ice. Even the thought of that starts to give him anxiety, the unease spreading, the concern flooding through him. Because every moment Marchand is not training, is not working on staving off the creep of time, is a moment lost.

And he cannot afford to lose even a single one.

"I have a fear of not being good enough or being pushed out [of the League] or falling off a cliff and just not being able to play anymore," Marchand r

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