When the 2024-25 season began, if you told fans of the Boston Bruins that Brad Marchand would be playing in the Stanley Cup Final, they would have been ecstatic. When the puck drops on Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night in Edmonton, Marchand will be suiting up and playing, just not for the Black and Gold.
When the Bruins' season went downhill quickly after the first of the year, it led general manager Don Sweeney to go down a road that was necessary, being a seller at the trade deadline. Boy, selling is what he did. He moved on from some big names that a lot of people didn’t think he would, with Marchand being one of them. Now, he’s four wins away from a second championship.
Former Bruins captain Brad Marchand looking to win a Cup beginning Wednesday night
When Marchand was traded to the Florida Panthers, he thought that it would be his best opportunity to win a second title. He might not be wrong. After losing his last two tries with the Bruins in 2014 and 2019, he now has a chance to roast the Stanley Cup over his head with the new Kings of the Atlantic Division.
What a gut-punch that would be, Marchand winning a title with the organization that has booted the Black and Gold from the last two postseasons. However, this is where we are, and you have to think that most Bruins fans will be rooting for him, even wearing a Panthers uniform.
Quietly in the playoffs, Marchand has turned into the trade deadline's best move. He has become one of Florida’s top players, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who knows Marchand and his style of play. It fits perfectly with how they play.
When Marchand arrived in South Florida, there were some former Bruins teammates in the Florida locker room: A.J. Greer, Tomas Nosek, and Jesper Boqvist. Now they are, along with Edmonton’s Trent Frederic, one win away from hoisting the Cup in a uniform that doesn’t have a Spoked-B on it.