‘Excited to have him on our side’: Panthers react to trade that brought Brad Marchand to Florida
The Florida Panthers closed out the NHL trade deadline on Friday with a bang when they acquired veteran forward Brad Marchand from the Boston Bruins for a conditional 2027 second-round pick.
Marchand, in his 16th NHL season, brings a championship pedigree to a Panthers team hoping to repeat as Stanley Cup champions and will fortify all facets of their game once healthy — he is currently week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
The news of the trade was certainly welcomed by the Panthers, who are once again in prime position to make a deep playoff run after consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final the past two years and winning it all last season. Panthers president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Zito on Friday broke down how and why the trade went down. That story can be found here.
Here is the reaction from players and coach Paul Maurice on Saturday following the team’s morning skate ahead of their 6 p.m. game against the Buffalo Sabres.
Captain Aleksander Barkov
What does Marchand bring to the team?
“A lot of a lot of experience in the regular season obviously, but then the playoffs, too. He’s a winner. He won the Stanley Cup with Boston, and every year he’s been part of a really good team. So he has that experience of playing meaningful games. And obviously everyone knows what kind of player and human he is. Excited to have him on our side for once.”
Where were you when the trade happened? Did the group text blow up?
“I know the deadline was at 3 p.m, so it was right about that time. I thought ‘OK, this is probably it. No more news.’ And then it happened. Obviously some chats were going. It’s a really good addition.”
What does a move like this do to energize the team?
“It’s awesome. Obviously, bringing in a guy like him is not an everyday thing. We’re really excited to have him here, and obviously can’t wait to see him on the ice playing for us and not against us. That’s the biggest thing.”
What does it mean to the players to see Bill Zito and the front office making whatever moves are needed to put you in position to make a deep playoff run?
“That’s a huge sign for us from Bill that we’re all in again. We want to win. We want to compete for another Cup, and we added some amazing players here and amazing guys.”
The Panthers have had a pretty good rivalry with Boston the past few years. How weird is it going to be to play with Marchand now instead of against him?
“He’s not here yet, so we’ll see how it’s going to be, but everyone’s excited to have that type of guy on the team. Just seeing his name plate with the Panthers logo on it is kind of weird for now, but can’t wait to see him here.”
Forward A.J. Greer
You played with Marchand during the 2022-23 season. What is he going to bring to the Panthers?
“Everyone’s excited. Brad is an amazing person and great player, but he brings out the best in everyone every day. He’s a competitor, and whether it’s in practice or in games, he always kind of seems to elevate everyone around him, so we’re really excited to have him. I think he’s going to compliment this group really well. He’s one of my really good friends. I can’t wait to hug him and joke around with him and stuff. He’s such an awesome person to have day in and day out.”
Have you talked with him yet?
“I sent him a few texts. Obviously didn’t want to blow his phone up because I know he’s gonna have so many people reaching out. Hopefully I see him soon enough. But again, I just can’t reiterate how important he is to a team and how much of a leader and competitor he is, and I think that’s the reason why we went and got him. He’s going to help out this group all the way from the younger guys to the older guys. He’s just such a great person.”
I know it’s different for Marchand because he’s been there for 16 years, but what’s it like playing in that 2023 playoff series vs the Panthers (that Florida won in seven games) and then come and join the Panthers?
“It stings still, for sure, but we give credit to those guys who were on this team and put everything out on the ice. It was a good battle. It was a good series, but we fell short of what we wanted to accomplish in Boston. I think coming from there to come here, there’s a lot of similarities in some ways, as far as mentality and what you need to be successful in this league, and that’s why you see we have some guys from the Bruins that are here. Coaches have said that they know the way to compete and the way to play the game. But I think there’s a special, special ingredient with the Florida Panthers and something that you can’t teach. It’s just something in the air here. It’s very, very special. And so I’m really excited to get into the playoffs and ready to roll and battle with these guys. But again, you can’t teach what the leadership has done here and kind of the environment. It’s just something that comes with it every day. And I’m just grateful to be here. And I think Brad’s going to come and see this place — the organization, management, coaches and the group that we have here, the environment — and really thrive and realize that it’s the top of the NHL.”
Is it going to be weird seeing him wear anything but a Bruins sweater?
“Yeah, definitely weird. He’s excited, and ultimately, you want to win Stanley Cup. He made a decision to, I think he picked this team, and then I think we’re good to go. Like I said, we have the tools to do it, so now it’s just a matter of doing it. You saw all the trades going down; the league is beefing up across the board to make sure that every series is going to be competitive. It’s going to come down to wants it more, really, and we’re ready to do that.”
Even if he doesn’t play, what is it going to be like to go to Boston on Tuesday with Marchand part of the Panthers?
“Same thing. Get on their nerves. Get on the body. Win the game. It’s our recipe and I think that’s what we do well. I don’t think it’s gonna change a thing. He’s gonna do well. He’s gonna realize real quick what the recipe is here and I I have full confidence in him really helping our group.”
Panthers coach Paul Maurice
What was your first reaction to the trade?
“It’s exciting. A bit of a surprise for the coaches anyway. We’re not down with that in the building, nor should we be, so we don’t know when those ideas come to possibility at that point. Very, very excited about the idea. And then when you go back to the starting point of management preparing for the trade deadline, what they did an incredible job of is they, as they always do, is recognize what our needs are. We needed a top-four defenseman, and then we needed a penalty killer. So I know that’s an unusual thing to say about Brad Marchand, but he was part of possibly the best tandem for years with Patrice Bergeron. Clearly, he’s a power play guy. He’s an offensive guy. He’s physical. He’s got all that energy. But when you relate it to the specific needs of the Florida Panthers, he’s a very, very strong face-off man and a penalty killer. He’s a Stanley Cup winner, so he understands the grind, the importance of every face-off and the hard details of the games. So it’s kind of a credit to Bill and his group. We had some needs coming in. We weren’t just adding depth or filling holes. We were addressing where we thought we needed to get better.”
How does this energize an already talented roster?
“Everybody understands how hard it is. When you look at all the teams that are that are fighting for the playoffs right now, a lot of them just got better, so I’m not sure that anybody got the edge on anybody. Everybody just got better. But you want that. I think we had it before. I think we felt OK. We got to play a little different. We got a little different group here. Our game looks a little different now than it did last year at this time, and that was by design, after we learned some things in the first four months. So I think there was that positivity, but I think the more connections that you can have in your room, the better. Brad Marchand comes in here and there’s a history with us, with the Florida Panthers, and then he’s got a great history because he and Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart played on a team together [during the 4 Nations Face-Off] and had great success. So there’s an instant connection in our room when he comes in. I think that helps. I think those connections are vital when you when you start the playoffs.”
What’s it like to coach what might be the most disliked team in the NHL right now?
“We love them. I love them. So there’s enough love between everybody in South Florida and the coaching staff and management. It balances out the hate.”
Does this move happen if Sam Bennett doesn’t play with Marchand on Team Canada? (Context here)
“I think it happens. It’s just you’re not sure how that room’s gonna be. You feel better about it. I don’t have to separate them. They don’t have to dress in different rooms and all. They’re good with each other now. They’re great with each other.”
What’s the latest with his injury?
“He’ll come in here and we’ll get our doctors to look at him with an understanding of what the injury is. We feel confident. Boston had listed him as week to week, so we’ll stay with that until we get a look at them, but I’ll have a pretty good idea I would think by Monday.”
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