When the Boston Bruins traded Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers at the trade deadline in March, you knew that the first time he returned to the TD Garden, it was going to be emotional. Shortly following the trade, the Panthers made a trip to Boston, but Marchand was still out injured from an injury he sustained just days before the trade.
During pregame warmups, social media was going crazy with Marchand on the ice posts and fans cheering him. It wasn't surprising, despite him wearing a Panthers uniform. He will always be a Bruin in fans' eyes.
Per usual, Marchand is the last player off the ice and acknowledges crowd as he leaves pic.twitter.com/owJH838yNz
— steve conroy (@conroyherald) October 21, 2025
It didn't take long for Marchand to make an impact as he drew a Bruins penalty just 33 seconds into the game. Then, on the power play, he picked up an assist on a Mackie Samoskevich's goal 1:01 into the game. It was a scenario that Bruins fans saw happen several times during Marchand's time with the Black and Gold.
Then the first TV timeout happened.
Brad Marchand gets extremely emotional during Bruins tribute video
It took almost until the halfway point of the first period for the first TV timeout, but when it happened, it got emotional. Boston put together a tribute video of Marchand and his 16 years in Boston, and he failed to keep his emotions inside.
Brad Marchand. Forever a Boston Bruin. 💛🖤 pic.twitter.com/f4YVe6zZ4U
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 22, 2025
During the tribute, the ESPN cameras went back and forth between Marchand and the fans, but as the video went along, he began crying, as likely did many fans. The video was done very well by the Bruins, but it's still weird that it got to this point.
It was an emotional return for Marchand, but it took just one minute and one second into the game for him to make a massive impact by drawing a penalty and picking up an apple on Florida's first goal.