The Boston Bruins have cleaned house at the NHL's trade deadline. They have moved out several notable players, including center Charlie Coyle and solid defenseman Brandon Carlo. However, their decision to trade their 36-year-old captain Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers was a shocking move for the oldest U.S franchise in the NHL.

The Bruins rank 12th in the Eastern Conference and are out of the playoff structure. While they are just 3 points behind the Ottawa Senators who sit in the final playoff spot, they are 1-6-2 in their last 9 games. The Bruins have a brilliant track record of making the playoffs in 49 of the last 56 seasons — dating back to the legendary Bobby Orr's second season — but that notable mark is not helping them this season.

General manager Don Sweeney and team president Cam Neely saw the handwriting on the wall and have made multiple moves to help the team improve in the future. This is commonly known as a “tear down,” but that's a phrase that Sweeney refuses to use. Nevertheless, the Bruins have moved on from multiple core players — and their beloved captain.

The Bruins sent Trent Frederic and Max Jones to the Edmonton Oilers, Justin Brazeau to the Minnesota Wild, Coyle to the Colorado Avalanche, Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Marchand to the Florida Panthers.

While four of the trades are quite defensible, the decision to move Marchand to the defending Stanley Cup champions for a 2027 second-round draft choice that could turn into a 2028 first-round selection is painful to Bruins fans. It does not appear to be a good business move.

Marchand has been the heartbeat of the Bruins

Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) makes a save in front of Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) during the first period in game six of the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden.
Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

Bruins fans hold Marchand in a special place.

He has been with the Bruins for all 16 years of his career and he was the last remaining link from the 2011 Stanley Cup champions. Additionally, he is a player who was viewed as something of a longshot when he was selected in the 3rd round of the 2006 NHL Draft.

Few thought he would make the team, but Marchand has been indomitable during his career and he took every doubt as a challenge. He scored 21 goals as a rookie in 2010-11, and became a dynamic performer in the team's Stanley Cup run. He scored 5 goals in the 7-game triumph over the Vancouver Canucks, including two in the clinching Game 7.

Marchand has been a 4-time All-Star in his career and he has scored 422 goals and 554 assists for 976 points in his 1,090 regular-season games for the Bruins. He has also scored 56 goals and 138 points in 157 career postseason games with the Bruins.

His work in the postseason means he has basically played the equivalent of two more NHL seasons. Time has taken a toll on Marchand, and the Bruins were not able to come up with an agreeable contract extension for their captain. As a result, he was deemed expendable by the team.

Free agency is on the horizon for Marchand

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Marchand is set to become a free agent July 1.  Sweeney said the decision to part company with Marchand has been quite painful.

“It cuts deeper than really any player that I’ve had the privilege of getting to know and watch and thrive and become a Hall of Famer and one of the greatest Bruins ever,” Sweeney said at his post-trade press conference. “So, a difficult day from that standpoint. Personally, professionally, it’s making some very difficult decisions and I want to wish each and every one of them well.”

Marchand suffered an injury in his last game with the Bruins. He was crunched into the boards March 1 by P.O. Joseph of the Pittsburgh Penguins and had to be helped off the ice early in the first period. The Bruins did not give specifics on the injury other than saying it was of the “upper body” variety, but it may be a concussion. The team said the injury would be updated “week-to-week” basis.

The injury situation means that Marchand will not be able to play for head coach Paul Maurice and the Panthers for quite a while — possibly until the start of the playoffs in mid-April. His absence may be the reason that the Bruins were not able to command a better return in the trade.

Grade for trading Marchand: F

This was a brutal move by Sweeney. While the general manager may have tried to be prudent with his team's spending, the decision to part company with Marchand sends a brutal message to other players on the Bruins and throughout the league.

Marchand clearly gave every bit of his body and soul to the Bruins, yet they moved him for very little to the team that has knocked them out of the playoffs and drained them of their mojo the past two seasons. The decision to move Marchand was painful enough, but to move him to the Panthers is beyond what most fans and many observers could fathom.

The message is that the team did not show loyalty to one of the franchise's all-time great players. Why would impending free agents believe that the team will treat them differently?

This is a trade that could hurt the Bruins for years. It gets a grade of F.