Brad Marchand will always be associated with the Boston Bruins. But while he's regarded as one of the best ever to put on a Bruins uniform, Marchand is also having quite a career revival with the Florida Panthers, with whom he was able to raise the Lord Stanley Cup for the second time in his career.
Marchand parted ways with the Bruins just ahead of March's NHL trade deadline, with Boston sending him to the Panthers in exchange for a 2027 second-round pick.
The veteran forward was an instant hit with the Panthers. Joining a team that was the reigning and defending Stanley Cup champions seemingly lit a fire under Marchand, who turned up his play in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“It’s rejuvenating,” Marchand said via Mark Lazerus of The Athletic.
“The love of the game, coming into a new group and a new environment. Sometimes that’s all it takes to get your mind back into the right place. And it makes you want to hold up your end of the bargain. That’s a huge part of this group. You don’t want to let the guy beside you down. You see how hard everyone is working, so you’d better pull on that part of the rope as well.”
Marchand, who turned 37 years old in May, scored two goals and dished out two assists in 10 games in the regular season with the Panthers. In the playoffs, he found the back of the net 10 times and recorded 10 assists, while going plus-17 through 23 games, as the Panthers successfully defended their NHL crown.
Having rekindled his love for the game with Florida, Marchand decided to run it back with the Panthers rather than test his value in the free agent market. Marchand inked a six-year, $31.5 million extension contract with Florida in June.
With Aleksander Barkov suffering a knee injury that will keep him out for the entire 2025-26 season, Marchand can expect a significant role on the Panthers. Now that he has a full offseason to train and prepare with Florida, Marchand will look to make ample contributions to the Panthers, who will kick off their season this Tuesday against the Chicago Blackhawks at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida.
