The Florida Panthers made a big trade for Brad Marchand at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline. The Panthers parted with a second-round pick to acquire the veteran winger from the Boston Bruins. However, Marchand has not played for Florida yet. The ex-Bruins captain suffered an injury before the trade that has kept him out of action.

However, the veteran forward may be close to returning. Head coach Paul Maurice provided an injury update about Marchand on Wednesday. Florida is aiming for the future Hall of Famer to play on Friday against the Utah Hockey Club, according to Maurice.

“He has been on the ice for a little bit now,” the Panthers coach said, via NHL.com's George Richards. “That's probably the advantage to four days [off] in that we don't lose another game. We'll get him through a full practice [Thursday] and make an assessment. But we are shooting for Friday against Utah right now.”

However, this date is not set in stone. Maurice stressed that no one is being rushed. If Marchand cannot go, he will not play on Friday against Utah. “We're not jamming these guys back on their first available day,” he said, via Richards. “We're not bringing them in early. If he says he wants a few more days, we're good with that.”

Who will Panthers' Brad Marchand play with?

Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) skates with the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period at PPG Paints Arena.
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Marchand has skated with his new team, as Maurice stated earlier. This can give us a bit of an insight into who the future Hall of Famer will play alongside when he debuts. The Florida head coach had Marchand skating on the team's second line with Sam Bennett and rookie Mackie Samoskevich in their most recent practice session.

Marchand has no connection with Samoskevich, a 2021 first-round pick. However, Maurice pointed to Marchand's history with Bennett as a reason for potentially pairing those two together. Bennett and Marchand starred for Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in mid-February.

“With Matthew (Tkachuk) out of our lineup, there's a place for [Marchand], for sure,” Maurice said, via Richards. “That's just comfort level. Of all the games he has played with our guys, the most have been with Sam Bennett (internationally for Canada). He has some conversation there. That's the idea of putting him there.”

The Panthers are looking to defend their Stanley Cup championship in 2025. First, they need to claim a playoff spot and, ideally, take the Atlantic Division along with it. To this end, having Marchand in the lineup is certainly something Florida will welcome with open arms.