Tuesday night is a huge one for the Boston Bruins and Brad Marchand. The former longtime Bruins winger is making his return to Boston for the first time since winning a Stanley Cup with the rival Florida Panthers. Marchand was not active when the Panthers made a trip to Boston days after the trade deadline due to an injury.
The Bruins had a fire sale last year and dealt Marchand, but fans held onto a sliver of hope that the Bruins would re-sign him. Instead, after getting a taste of winning with the Panthers, he had no desire to leave Florida and signed a six-year deal.
This game is set to be filled with all the emotions for Bruins fans and Marchand. Expect there to be video tributes and standing ovations during the Bruins vs. Panthers game at TD Garden on Tuesday night.
Marchand spoke with reporters on Monday after Panthers practice and was asked about what he is going to miss most about his time in Boston. Marchand said it was "the fans."
Brad Marchand praises Bruins fans ahead of return to Boston on Tuesday night
“The fans, for sure,” said Marchand, h/t NHL.com's Amalie Benjamin. “Hockey-wise. The city’s incredible -- I’ve lived in a bunch of different areas around here and the city’s incredible. But the fans make it awesome. They’re just very unique. Some of the stories and things that I’ve seen fans do -- a lot of them aren’t PG rated -- in playoff runs and stuff like that, it’s so special and I think so unique to this area.”
Marchand has had a good feel for the Boston sports fandom during his 16 years with the Bruins. He knows how passionate they are. But ahead of the game, he knows that Bruins fans are going to be conflicted. While they may want to cheer for him, they don't want to cheer on the rival Panthers.
“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,” Marchand said. “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.”
Marchand brought plenty of joy for Bruins fans, as he played a role in the team breaking their Stanley Cup drought in 2011, their first title since 1972. Not to mention, earned three Eastern Conference championships. During his time in Boston, Marchand recorded 422 goals and 554 assists for a total of 976 points.
After a lost season last year, Bruins fans painstakingly watched the Marchand they knew and love show up in the playoffs and play an integral role in the Panthers winning the Stanley Cup in back-to-back years. In 23 games, Marchand scored 10 goals and recorded 10 assists. Now, Marchand is under contract for six seasons with the Panthers.
It will no doubt be weird for Bruins fans to see Marchand skate on the ice wearing a visitor's uniform. He knows that. But ahead of the game, Marchand took the time to express his gratitude to Bruins fans.
“You go to all these places around the League where people don’t show up and don’t care and they don’t say anything and you don’t hear about hockey when you leave the rink, but this is a real sports city," he said. "So when you leave, they care about it. ... When you have a fanbase that’s passionate like that, you’ve got to embrace it and appreciate it.”