Florida Panthers React to Blockbuster Brad Marchand Acquisition
“Just seeing his nameplate with the Panthers logo on it is kind of weird for now, but I can’t wait to see him here,” captain Aleksander Barkov said of the pending arrival of Brad Marchand.
Photo via Katie Engleson — Scripps Sports
FORT LAUDERDALE — When the Florida Panthers made their big splash to acquire Brad Marchand at the 11th hour of the NHL trade deadline, even some of their players were surprised. For multiple reasons.
On one hand, there’s the obvious quietness — the last-minute nature of how the move went down. It was not officially announced by either squad until well over three hours after the deadline because it was in a long queue of last-minute trades waiting to be processed by the league.
And, on the other hand, it’s Brad freakin’ Marchand.
He needs no introduction — 422 goals and 976 points in 1090 career games; 56 goals and 138 points in 157 playoff games; and a reputation as one of the league’s biggest agitators over the course of his 16-year NHL career.
“The deadline was at 3 p.m., so it was right about that time, so I thought ‘OK, this is probably it. No more news,’” captain Aleksander Barkov said. “Obviously, there were some chats that were going on. It’s a really good addition.”
Florida has gotten to know Marchand pretty well over the past few years.
The Panthers have knocked out his Boston Bruins in back-to-back years in a series which has spurned one of the NHL’s most-watched rivalries over the past couple of years.
Now, Barkov finds himself as a teammate of the captain on the other side of the handshake line from two of the hardest-fought playoff series of his career.
“In the playoffs, he’s a winner,” Barkov said. “He won the Stanley Cup with Boston, and every year he’s been part of really good teams. He has that experience of playing meaningful games, and obviously everyone knows what kind of player and human he is, so we’re excited to have him on our side for once.”
The Panthers have had their history as an opponent of Marchand’s over the years — and especially with him being on a team they have developed a legitimate rivalry with via postseason match-ups.
Last season, there was the alleged sucker punch Sam Bennett threw at Marchand which kept him out of the majority of the second-round series. Marchand and Bennett have since buried the hatchet, winning the 4 Nations Face-Off together (along with Sam Reinhart) with Team Canada.
“I think it happens, but you’re just not sure how that room is going to feel,” Maurice joked when asked if Bennett and Marchand playing together helped this trade become a possibility.
“I don’t have to separate them. They don’t have to dress in different rooms. They’re good with each other now. They’re great with each other.”
In 2022-23, they completed a comeback from down 3-1 in the series against a Bruins team that finished the season with the best record in the NHL.
One of the most memorable moments from that series? Sergei Bobrovsky coming up with a huge save on a Marchand breakaway to send Game 5 to overtime and give the Florida a chance to keep the series alive.
The Panthers are familiar with Marchand, they know what he brings, and they are excited to have him.
“So, Brad Marchand comes in here and there’s a history with the Florida Panthers,” Maurice said. “And then he’s got a great history, because he, Bennett and Reinhart played on a team together and had great success.
“So, there’s an instant connection in our room when he comes in. I think that helps. I think those connections are vital when you start the playoffs.”
Bennett and Reinhart are far from the only people who have a history with Marchand in the Florida organization.
Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton, who Marchand played on a line with the year Boston won the Stanley Cup in 2011, both work in the front office as an assistant general manager and the chief revenue officer respectively.
Jesper Boqvist, Tomas Nosek and A.J. Greer have all played with Marchand as a teammate in Boston in recent years.
“Everyone’s excited,” Greer said. “Brad is an amazing person, great player, but he brings out the best in everyone every day. He is a competitor, and you know, whether it’s in practice or in games, he always seems to elevate everyone around him. So, we’re really excited to have him and we think he is going to compliment this group really well.
“He is one of my really good friends, I can’t wait to hug him and joke around with him and stuff like that. He is such an awesome person to have day-in and day-out at work.”
Marchand has yet to join his new Panthers teammates in person yet — he was back in Boston rehabbing an injury while the Bruins were on the road in Tampa Bay at the time of the trade — but Greer is excited to reunite with his old friend.
He saw firsthand how important Marchand was to the fabric of the team — and why he proudly wore the captaincy on his chest for two years following the retirement of Patrice Bergeron — and just how much he can elevate a playoff-ready roster.
“I sent him a few texts,” Greer said. “I obviously don’t want to blow his phone up because I know he’s going to have so many people reaching out, so hopefully I see him soon enough.
“But, again, I just can’t reiterate how important he is to a team and how much of a leader and a competitor he is. And so, I think that’s the reason why we got him and he is going to help out this group all the way from the younger guys to the older guys.”
The Panthers are going to have to wait a little bit for him to be fully part of the fold. Marchand is currently “week-to-week” with an injury he sustained on March 1. But they are certainly excited to get to work with him, at least once they get used to the guy they battled so hard against wearing their colors.
“He’s not here yet, so we’ll see how it’s going to be, but everyone is excited to have that type of guy on the team,” Barkov said. “Just seeing his nameplate with the Panthers logo on it is kind of weird for now, but I can’t wait to see him here.”