This Canadian city is planning its sixth Stanley Cup parade since 2007. It has no NHL team
This year's Cup champion, the Florida Panthers, has 100 days with the Stanley Cup, from the night they won it, June 17, until the NHL's opening night in early October.
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One of the breakout stars of this year's Panthers is Halifax's Brad Marchand. He won the Cup in 2011 with the Boston Bruins, but chose to celebrate with smaller events at Halifax City Hall and a visit to the local children's hospital.
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'He didn't have a parade,' Pritchard said. 'Not a lot of them do actual parades. The community has to get that going and Halifax has been great at it.'
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The 37-year-old right winger, who hails from the Halifax suburb of Hammonds Plains, deserves a parade, according to Jason Wilson, who teaches a course about hockey in Canadian history at the University of Guelph.
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'Marchand has proven himself to hockey fans everywhere. He has even convinced long-suffering Leafs fans like myself that he's the real deal,' said Wilson, co-author of Lord Stanley: The Man Behind the Cup.
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'His commitment to focusing on the game and shredding — though perhaps not altogether — his sometimes-bizarre non-hockey play on the ice, is a declaration of maturity. When you consider the Four Nations Cup and this past Stanley Cup playoffs, I think there's an argument to be made that he has to be included among the top five most impactful players of 2025. An impact that surely has the good people of Hammonds Plains, N.S., planning a parade route for their ice warrior.'
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Marchand scored six goals in five games for the Panthers during the 2025 Stanley Cup Final, including game-winning goals in both of their road wins, to help Florida take their second straight championship against the Edmonton Oilers.
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'Brad doesn't have a date picked yet' for his personal day with the Stanley Cup, Pritchard said.
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That begs the question: should Halifax throw Marchand a parade?
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'It takes more than one guy to have the parade,' Pritchard said, 'the community's got to get behind it.'
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Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore sounds keen on hosting a Marchand parade.
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'Brad Marchand is a hometown legend and now a two-time Stanley Cup champion and Halifax couldn't be prouder,' Fillmore said in an email.
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'As mayor of Halifax, I'd love to welcome Brad home to celebrate this incredible win, with the Cup, of course. We're in early discussions at the city about how to help make that happen. It's entirely up to him, but if he's game, we'd be thrilled to host him here in Halifax this summer.'
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