The Florida Panthers are back in the Stanley Cup Final. They won their third consecutive Eastern Conference Final, beating the Carolina Hurricanes in five games. A key to the Panthers' success has been Brad Marchand, who came over from the Boston Bruins in a deadline-day deal. The former Bruins captain spoke with NHL.com's Amalie Benjamin about what forced his deal from Boston and his failed contract talks.

Marchand entered the season in the final year of his contract, something he never planned on doing. “I didn’t really want to play contract years out because I never really wanted to have that stress. I always wanted the security of maybe take a little less and you get a deal done early, and you have the security of it being done and you can just worry about playing hockey.”

But the Bruins spent most of last summer focused on keeping Jeremy Swayman, assuming contract talks with their captain would be smooth. But once the season went off the rails, the Panthers swooped in and snagged Marchand.

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“I find when you go into a season playing (without a contract), things matter,” Marchand said. “Your stats matter more. So, it doesn’t just become about the team. When you’re on term and you’re on a contract, it can be all about the team and you can sacrifice whatever you need to be part of the team. But in contract years, you can’t do that. You have to be a little bit selfish.”

Before the deadline, Marchand has already secured his 13th consecutive 20-goal season. The Panthers knew he was a proven playoff performer who could still score and help replace the depth they lost in the offseason. He has done exactly that through the East Final and looks to win the second title of his career.