The Florida Panthers closed out the NHL trade deadline on Friday with another blockbuster: They are acquiring veteran forward Brad Marchand from the Boston Bruins, according to multiple reports.
The rest of the details regarding the trade are not yet publicly known.
Marchand, 36, has played his entire 16-season NHL career with the Bruins. In 1,090 games, he has 422 goals and 976 points. He has 21 goals and 47 points through 61 games this season. He has missed Boston’s past three games while dealing with an upper-body injury sustained in the Bruins’ 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.
An interesting subplot to watch unfold: Panthers center Sam Bennett and Marchand were at the center of a fracas in the second round of last season’s Stanley Cup playoffs after Bennett sucker punched Marchand during Game 3 of the series, which the Panthers won in six games on its way to winning the franchise’s first Stanley Cup.
“He plays hard. He’s an extremely physical player. Great player for the group. I think he got away with a shot, but I’m not gonna complain. [Stuff] happens,” Marchand told reporters in Boston about the punch ahead of Game 6. “That’s part of playoff hockey. I’ve been on the other side of a lot of plays. I think you can get away with one, but that’s part of the game and definitely part of playoff hockey. It sucks to be on the other side of it, but that stuff happens. I’m not going to sit here and complain about it because it’s part of the game, but yeah, I think he got away with one.”
Bennett has said the collision wasn’t intentional.
“It’s one of those plays where he’s coming to hit me,” Bennett said after Florida’s Game 4 win against Boston. “I’m trying to brace myself. There’s no way I would have had time to think about punching him in the face like everyone said, but people can have their opinions. I know it definitely wasn’t intentional. I’m bracing myself as he’s coming to hit me, and it’s unfortunate that he got hit. Obviously, he’s a heck of a player and a big part of that team. So it’s unfortunate, but by no means was that an intentional punch in the face.”
Marchand will be the fifth trade the Panthers made over the past week. The rest:
▪ Acquiring five-time All-Star defensemen Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday for goaltender Spencer Knight and a conditional 2026 first-round pick.
▪ Trading for San Jose Sharks goaltender Vitek Vanecek on Wednesday in exchange for forward prospect Patrick Giles.
▪ Picking up center Nico Sturm from the Sharks on Thursday for a 2026 fourth-round pick. Florida is also getting a seventh-round pick in 2027 in the deal.
▪ Getting goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for goaltender Chris Driedger.
Story by Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency.
