Brad Marchand now plays for the Florida Panthers, but to a lot of hockey fans, he will always be associated with the Boston Bruins first and foremost. The Bruins and their fans gave one of their all-time greats a warm welcome, reminding him that Marchand still belongs in Beantown, with the incredible reception they gave him during Tuesday night's game at TD Garden between Boston and the visiting Panthers.

The Bruins played a video tribute for Marchand amid the Panthers game, and it left the veteran forward emotional, tearing up on the ice as Boston fans gave him a standing ovation.

It can be recalled that Marchand was controversially traded to the Panthers in March in exchange for a conditional 2027 second-round pick. Many Boston fans didn't like the move the Bruins' front office made. Instead of signing Marchand to an extension, Boston let one of the greatest players to ever don Bruins' colors leave via a trade to the defending Stanley Cup champions.

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It all worked out for Marchand, as he won his second Stanley Cup after joining the Panthers. He played a significant role in Florida's successful defense of its NHL crown, scoring 10 goals and dishing out 10 assists in 23 games in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The 27-year-old Marchand will be with the Panthers for years to come, with a reunion with Boston looking unlikely as things stand. After winning the Cup with the Panthers, Marchand put pen to paper and signed a six-year extension contract with Florida, worth $31.5 million.

Marchand also made his mark early in the game against the Bruins, as he was credited with an assist on Mackie Samoskevich's goal on the power play to put the Panthers on the board first in the opening period.

During his time with the Bruins, who took him in the third round of the 2006 NHL Draft, Marchand scored 427 goals and recorded 559 assists for a total of 986 points across 1,107 games in the regular season.