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Brad Marchand is an excellent player at a very affordable salary.

You won't find too many NHL players with a salary cap hit of $4.5 million capable of scoring between 25 and 30 goals, driving puck possession at an impressive rate and performing at an elite level on the penalty kill.

It's also why the Boston Bruins will miss him dearly as he recovers from a concussion suffered in the third period of Saturday's loss to the Montreal Canadiens. It's unknown how long he'll be out of the lineup, but the Bruins recently announced he's out indefinitely.

Marchand's scoring is a huge benefit to the B's. He's finished in the top three on the team in goals scored during each of the last four seasons, and he ranked first or T-1st in two of those campaigns.

His ability to drive possession also is a plus for the Bruins. He finished with a 56.8 Corsi-For percentage last season, which means Boston controlled nearly 57 percent of all 5-on-5 shot attempts with Marchand on the ice. That mark was good enough for 19th in the league, one spot ahead of Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby.

This puck possession success is even more impressive when you factor in he consistently played against the opponent's top forwards on a nightly basis, as evidenced by his 1.237 Corsi Rel QoC last season (second-best on the B's behind Patrice Bergeron).

Special teams is another area Marchand positively impacts. He averaged 1:23 of shorthanded ice time per game last season, and that won't be easy to replace with him out of the lineup.

His absence was felt in Monday's loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning when the Bruins allowed two power-play goals in four penalty kill situations. Marchand and Bergeron arguably are the best penalty killing tandem in the league, and their ability to turn defense into offense on that unit -- Marchand has seven shorthanded goals over the last two seasons -- is quite valuable.

The Bruins shouldn't rush Marchand back to the lineup. He's too valuable to risk long-term. Boston will need him healthy on a consistent basis to find success in just about every facet of the game.

Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images