Brad Marchand will be traded to the Florida Panthers pending a trade call, sources told ESPN on Friday.
It was a late splash at the NHL trade deadline on Friday for the Panthers, who are gearing up for another run at the Stanley Cup.
A source told ESPN’s John Buccigross that the Bruins will receive a 2027 second-round choice that turns into a 2028 first-round pick if certain conditions are met.
Marchand, the Boston Bruins‘ captain, was in the final months of an eight-year deal with Boston that carried a $6.125 million salary cap hit. The captain wanted to stay in Boston; however, negotiations with his camp and the Bruins reached a stalemate over term, sources told ESPN. The Bruins were hesitant to give Marchand a two-year contract.
Marchand, who turns 37 in May, is currently sidelined with an upper-body injury that could keep him out until shortly before the playoffs. The Bruins are currently in Tampa, but Marchand remained in Boston, rehabbing. The winger had three surgeries this past summer — on his elbow, groin and abdomen. He competed in every game for Team Canada at 4 Nations Face-Off and was effective for the Bruins, scoring 21 goals in 61 games this season.
The defending Stanley Cup champions got even stronger over the past week, notably acquiring defenseman Seth Jones from Chicago. Florida also picked up a new backup goalie in Vitek Vanecek and a depth forward in Nico Sturm.
The Bruins fell out of playoff contention — in a season that already cost coach Jim Montgomery his job — and became big sellers on Friday, also trading away veteran center Charlie Coyle to Colorado and Brandon Carlo to Toronto. Earlier, the team traded away Trent Frederic and Justin Brazeau.
A Stanley Cup champion with Boston in 2011, and a perennial top-liner who bridged the Bruins’ transitions between several different coaching staffs, Marchand, 37, can play the tough minutes for the Panthers as they battle for first place in the Atlantic Division with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Marchand has scored at least 21 goals in the past 12 seasons, and he has hovered between 18 and 19 minutes per game on the ice in the past 10 years for the Bruins.
