Brad Marchand returns to hockey heaven with Panthers, sets new standard for trade-deadline pickups

New York Times

5 hours ago

SUNRISE, Fla. — From the trade deadline bargain bin to a Stanley Cup champion in a little over three months, Brad Marchand is the new gold standard for how an in-season pickup can reinvigorate an NHL team.
The Florida Panthers surrendered a future first-round pick to the Boston Bruins and paid Marchand just $109,375 in salary before turning him loose for an unforgettable spring on the edge of the Everglades.
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Marchand scored 10 goals from the third line during Florida's second straight championship run, helping transform the Panthers into the deepest team in hockey. That included two game-winners during a six-game Cup Final win over the Edmonton Oilers that ended up being much more lopsided than the battle between the teams last June.
The biggest difference?
The presence of a 37-year-old who brought the tenacity of a champion to the lineup and the joy of a kid to the dressing room. Marchand and the Panthers proved to be a match made in hockey heaven – above even the expectations of the player himself.
'You never know how things are going to play out,' Marchand said. 'I just wanted to come in and buy in and be part of the group and play whatever role I was put in and do it to the best I possibly can. When you walk into this room and you see what guys are putting themselves through every day to prepare and to sacrifice and how dialed in they are, you just kind of follow suit.
'They've built an incredible culture in this room. It's very easy to follow. And when you do that, you just leave it all on the ice. We have a good team, so good things happen in here and we have a lot of fun.'
Marchand unleashed 14 years of pent-up emotion when he lifted the Stanley Cup above his head again at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday night. He'd won the trophy with the Bruins in 2011 at the end of his first full NHL season but was on the losing end of championship series in 2013 and 2019.
He vowed to treat this opportunity like it might be his last.
That capped a remarkable run for the veteran winger in Florida after being one of the final players moved before the March 7 trade deadline. Marchand didn't make his Panthers debut until March 28 because of injury but looked immediately at home after finding a spot on the third line beside Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen.
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That trio chewed through opponents all spring, with Florida outscoring its opponents 21-7 during Marchand's five-on-five minutes. Multiple Panthers labeled them the team's most effective line while dispatching the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes and Oilers on the way to another championship.
Needless to say, the first trade of Marchand's NHL career worked out better than anyone could have imagined. He admitted to feeling anxious about the move after 16 seasons in Boston and wasn't initially sure how he'd even fit in with the Panthers.
'When you look at the lineup, I was honestly like, 'I think I'm playing fourth line again. Back to my roots,'' Marchand said. 'I didn't have many expectations. I knew playing against the Panthers this year that they were the team that I felt in the East was the team that was going to make a run. So I was just excited to be part of it. I didn't have expectations of where I was going to play or what I was going to do.'
A pending unrestricted free agent on July 1, Marchand is expected to command more than $8 million per season on the open market, according to league sources.
He will go down as one of the better trade deadline pickups in NHL history. The Panthers acquired him for a first-round pick in either 2027 or 2028, with Boston retaining half of his remaining salary to make the numbers work.
In adding Marchand, the Panthers knew they were getting a high-engine worker. But they didn't realize what a big impact he would have on their team culture, thanks in large part to his good-natured demeanor.
'Getting to know him a little bit more as a human, he's more special than I could have imagined on that front,' Panthers general manager Bill Zito said. 'As a teammate and as a character human. From that standpoint, it's like frosting on the cake.'
While Sam Bennett (15) scored more goals for the Panthers this spring and received the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, Marchand arguably had the bigger moments. He won Game 2 against the Oilers with a breakaway goal in double overtime and scored twice with impressive individual efforts in Game 5 to give the Panthers the chance to hoist the Cup on home ice.
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Marchand also had an overtime winner against the Maple Leafs in Round 2, which prevented them from falling into an 0-3 hole in that series.
Following a season in which he struggled with health challenges and the weight of the uncertainty in Boston, Marchand saved his best hockey for when it mattered most. No one enjoyed the Cup run more than the oldest member of the Panthers.
'I honestly feel like a young guy again,' he said.