The Boston Bruins have reportedly traded captain Brad Marchand, sending the forward to the Florida Panthers as the final buzzer sounded on the NHL trade deadline Friday afternoon.
The deal is still pending a call with the league, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic and TSN. It’s unclear what the Bruins are getting in return for Marchand.
But it’s a shocking move and a shocking destination for Marchand, with the Bruins sending him within the conference to the team that ended their last two postseasons. Making the move even wilder is the fact the Bruins host the Panthers at TD Garden on Tuesday night.
Marchand is currently week-to-week after suffering an upper-body injury, so he may not be playing when the Panthers come to town. But whenever he does don a Florida sweater, it will be a tough pill for Boston fans to swallow. It will also be odd to see Marchand team up with Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett in Florida, as he’s had dustups with both players in the past.
The Panthers are in first place in the Atlantic Division, and Marchand will give them a little more offensive pop for the final stretch of the regular season and the playoffs. In 61 games this season, Marchand tallied 21 goals and 26 assists for Boston, both of which ranked second on the team behind David Pastrnak.
While he isn’t the franchise winger he once was, the 36-year-old Marchand still has a solid two-way skillset and a playoff pedigree.
Charlie Coyle also traded in Bruins fire sale
Trading away their captain — who was also the final link to Boston’s Stanley Cup title in 2011 — was a bold move by GM Don Sweeney, who for the first time ever has put the future ahead of the Bruins’ short-term success. In addition to trading away Marchand, the Bruins also dealt forward Trent Frederic to Edmonton, Weymouth native Charlie Coyle to the Colorado Avalanche, and defenseman Brandon Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Bruins tore it down on Friday, and now the rebuild is officially on in Boston.
Brad Marchand’s career with Bruins
Marchand had spent his entire 16-year career with the Bruins after being drafted by Boston in the third round of the 2006 draft. He made his pro debut with the Bruins in 2009-10, and then broke out in a big way during the 2010-11 season.
After tallying 41 points (20 goals, 21 assists) for Boston during the regular season, Marchand erupted in the playoffs for 11 goals and eight assists as the Bruins made a surprising run to a Stanley Cup title. His 10 even-strength goals that postseason led everyone in the NHL, and he scored two goals in Boston’s 4-0 title-clinching victory in Game 7 in Vancouver.
From there, the 5-foot-9 Marchand was a fan favorite in Boston for his gritty mindset and do-all attitude, which earned him the nickname “The Little Ball of Hate.” He was a fixture on Boston’s second line alongside Patrice Bergeron, and eclipsed the 30-goal mark five times for his career.
While he had the reputation as a pest and constantly toed the line with some of his on-ice antics, Marchand became a two-way threat for the Bruins and helped lead the team to two more Stanley Cup Final appearances during his run in Boston. Marchand led all NHL scorers with 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) during the 2018-19 playoffs, though the Bruins lost to the St. Louis Blues in seven games in the Cup Final.
Throughout his career, Marchand had a knack for coming through in the clutch. He owns 36 short-handed goals, which is tied for the eighth-most in NHL history.
Marchand served as Boston’s captain the last two seasons after Bergeron retired in 2023. He will be an unrestricted free agent after the season, and both he and the Bruins had expressed a desire to work out a long-term extension that would have assured Marchand would finish his career in Black and Gold.
Ultimately, the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement ahead of the deadline, and the Bruins sent their captain to a team that hopes to make a deep playoff run this summer. While Boston fans loved Marchand, they’ll have a tough time rooting for him in a Panthers sweater this summer.
Matt GeaganMatthew Geagan is a sports producer for CBS Boston. He has been part of the WBZ sports team for nearly 20 years. He moved over to the web in 2012 and has covered all the highs (and a few lows) in Boston sports.
