The return of Brad Marchand to Boston left no dry eye in the building as a video tribute played, commemorating all the years he played in Boston. Marchand himself was unsure about how he would be received:
"I’m sure it’s going to be tough. Some people, they won’t be able to cheer because I know they don’t like the Panthers very much, but maybe they’ll like me enough to give a little ‘Yay’ out there or something, but yeah, I think that there will be a little bit of love there, maybe if I do something good. If I do something bad, they’ll probably boo me pretty quick.. But they’re pretty passionate here, so they might have forgot already and treat me like any other Panther player."Brad Marchand via NHL
"If I played the game any other way, you absolutely would not know my name. You wouldn’t care enough to hate me, because I wouldn’t be in the NHL. The way I played the game got me noticed by junior teams, and it got me drafted by the Boston Bruins at 5’9.Brad Marchand, via Players Tribune
I was meant to play for this city. I believe that."
We did not forget. In fact, to no one’s surprise, Marchand’s return to the city he called home for 16 seasons was as heartwarming as could be. After a video tribute and a three minute standing ovation Marchand was visibly emotional as he waved to the fans who cheered him on for his whole career. As the video played on the jumbotron Marchand became increasingly emotional making his return even more special to him and everyone in attendance.
But despite the warm welcome, this was a bittersweet moment for Bruins’ fans. The sweet part comes from the large consensus among fans that they couldn’t be happier for Marchand’s individual success with the Panthers, and capturing his second Stanley Cup of his career. A three-minute standing ovation gave fans the opportunity to show their appreciation of the former captain and in turn, Marchand getting emotional, shows truly how much Boston meant to him.
But the bitter part of his return is that he still plays for the Florida Panthers. Leaving fans to revisit the trade that maybe some of us have not fully healed from. And despite how happy fans are about the success of Brad Marchand, there is no secret that every Bruins fan in attendance at TD Garden wishes number 63 were still in black and gold.
Tenacity, grit, and determination are 3 words that describe Brad Marchand. Three words that I think the current Bruins are severely lacking right now. Besides the Marchand ovation, five minutes in the third period, and the game-tying goal, this game was boring. The team was not only flat for more than two periods, but also lacked the emotion and competitive level seen earlier this season. Willingness to compete and getting emotionally involved should be the backbone of this team; they simply lack the skill to win otherwise.
This game marked the fourth straight loss for the Bruins after losing three previous games on their west coast trip. So, the expectation is it would be easy for the Bruins to get emotionally involved and ready to play hard against the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers and their former captain at home. But the Bruins fell short.
They showed signs of life by scoring 2 goals in the third period to tie the game and wake the crowd from its slumber. Then gave up a goal only to tie the game again at 3-3 in the final minutes. But then in true Bruins vs Panthers fashion, a weird bounce of Andrew Peeke into the Bruins' goal in the final minute robbed the Bruins of overtime.
Why the Marchand trade is still confusing
Not to beat a dead horse or maybe this is the hockey equivalent of texting your ex after a few too many adult beverages, but the Bruins are missing their former captain right now. So, let’s revisit the trade that broke the hearts of many Bruins’ fans and talk about why it's still such a confusing move.
Revisiting the trade
On paper, the return for the trade is reasonable. A conditional second round pick for a 37-year-old injured forward on a struggling team that has since turned into a first-round pick because the Panthers won the Stanley Cup. However, when you factor in that the same 37-year-old ranks 4th in games played, 5th in points, 4th in goals, 6th in assists, is the all-time leader in shorthanded goals and overtime goals in franchise history, severely underpaid for most of his career, superstar left wing, and CAPTAIN of the team Brad Marchand. I think most fans would agree that they would rather have Marchand retire a Boston Bruin than have whatever player that 2027 draft pick turns into.
Age of their stars
The next reason the Marchand trade is confusing is the age of their current stars like Pastrnak and McAvoy. These players are in their prime now, which means the Bruins need to capitalize on the prime of their careers by acquiring players that can help this team win sooner. And for those that say the Bruins need draft capital, that is fair, and they absolutely do, but the Bruins should also be mindful of whether the moves they make are for the benefit of their current cornerstone players.
So, let’s do some quick math. David Pastrnak is 29 years old. Let’s assume that the Bruins intend to use this 2027 draft pick and pick an 18-year-old player. In 2027, Pastrnak will be 31. Let’s assume this player is NHL-ready by 23 years old, the age of rookie Brad Marchand in 2011, which brings us to 2030. In 2030, David Pastrnak will be 34 and will be in the last year of his current contract that ends after the 2030-31 season.
So, there is a good chance that this player never plays with Pastrnak or misses his prime completely. The only course of action with that draft pick is to probably trade it for someone who can play with Pastrnak now as not to waste the prime of his career. But do you know who has unbelievable chemistry with David Pastrnak? Florida Panthers left wing Brad Marchand, whose current 6-year contract with the Panthers also ironically expires after the 2030-31 season.
Marchand’s value is more than on ice performance
The Bruins would be a much better team with Brad Marchand on it. If the difference between still having Marchand and not having Marchand is that draft pick, then most Bruins fans would be more than happy to still have an aging Marchand on this team. He brings an intangible value that goes beyond his play on the ice.
Marchand saw the state of the team last year, and how much they struggled, and wanted to stay anyway. He wasn’t chasing championships by demanding a trade elsewhere; he wanted to win here. He wanted to be the leader on the ice and in the locker room as the captain and was willing to facilitate the next generation of talent for the Bruins to get them back to winning.
If you don't believe it, just look at how fast he was able to integrate himself into the Panthers locker room and become a leader almost instantly for them. That doesn’t happen by accident. That takes a special kind of player to do that. A player that the Bruins just let go, much to the frustration of fans.
Why not a pot of gold?
Let’s run through a scenario to further drive this point. Patrice Bergeron in the 2022-23 season, his last year before retirement, signed a 1 year $2.5 million contract and won the Frank J. Selke Trophy that year as the NHL’s best defensive forward. The most recent winner of that award is Aleksander Barkov, who won it in 2021, 2024, and 2025. Aleksander Barkov makes $10 million per year.
Bergeron signed a significant discount because he knew that team had a good chance of winning a Stanley Cup and went on to become the best regular season team in the history of the NHL. Bergeron took that discount because, well there is no other way to say it, that guy is a saint. However, if Patrice Bergeron had walked into Don Sweeny’s office before that year and just asked to be paid what he was worth, what would have happened? Would Bruins management be just as stingy as they were with Marchand, or would they have made it work? Would they have traded him or chosen not to sign him?
In my opinion, Patrice Bergeron would’ve gotten a pot of gold. Whatever he asked for the response would be ‘Sounds good Bergy’ and we would’ve shaken hands. That is how important he was to that team. At least that is hopefully what would’ve happened.
So why didn’t Brad Marchand receive the same treatment? Where was the ‘Sounds great Marchy’ from Bruins management? Especially with the team having more cap space to pay their captain with Marchand than they had with Bergeron. Why nickel and dime your captain and future retired number and hall of famer Brad Marchand, all for a draft pick that will likely never play with any of your current stars? Unfortunately, the fans may never get an answer.
Let’s get back to Marchand
Now that my rant is over let’s get back to celebrating Brad Marchand. I’m happy he was able to get the ovation he did in Boston. I was at the game and couldn’t have been happier to be a part of it. No one deserved it more than him. After 16 seasons of spectacular play he will go down as one of the best players that this franchise has ever seen. Both Bruins’ fans of 2011 and Panther’s fans of 2025 can agree that they don’t win a Stanley Cup without him.
I think that is why most Bruins fans have been celebrating Marchand’s success in Florida. The ultimate payoff of that trade was being able to see Marchand lift his second Stanley Cup and add to his already amazing legacy. We know his story and how he competes and how much winning last year meant to him as an individual. Even if we wanted to see Marchand win in black and gold, at least the fans can take some comfort in celebrating Marchand’s success. Maybe that was the reason for such a warm and emotional welcome back to Boston. To the fans at least, it’s like he never left.
He will be forever intertwined with the history and culture of the Boston Bruins, the Stanley Cup in 2011, and most of all the fans. Even if he plays hockey elsewhere, he will always be a Bruin and part of Boston forever. Thank you for everything Marchy!!