When the Boston Bruins traded Brad Marchand at the trade deadline to the Florida Panthers, the return for their captain was underwhelming. It was draft pick that had a lot of contingencies with it and a lot to break down.
It was bad enough that Marchand was traded to the Florida Panthers, the team that eliminated the Black and Gold in the last two Stanley Cup Playoffs. But, following the trade, Boston fans have had to become big Florida fans following the trade. After things looked following the first round, things are looking bleak for the Bruins in terms of their return on March 7.
Toronto Maple Leafs halfway to making Bruins life more miserable in 2024-25
When the trade was announced back in March, it was revealed that Boston was getting a second-round draft pick, but it could become a first-round pick if the Panthers win two rounds in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs and Marchand needed to play in at least 50 percent of the games.
Through the first round of the playoffs, the Bruins were halfway there to getting the pick to turn into a first-rounder after Florida took down in-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning in five games, and Marchand played in all five games. Check. Things are going sideways in the second round.
The Maple Leafs, known playoff chokers, have won the first two games of their best-of-seven series at home and need just two wins of the remaining five games to advance to the Eastern Conference Final, which would eliminate the Panthers and give the Bruins a second-round draft pick rather than a first.
If we're being honest, the one year that Toronto breaks through to the second round of the playoffs hurts the Bruins. To be fair, it would be a fitting gut-punch to the Boston Bruins to go with the 2024-25 season. We're almost there.