A new side of Brad Marchand: How the iconic Bruin fit in so well, and quickly, with the Panthers

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.

Brad Marchand can laugh now about the rabbit punch to the face from now-teammate Sam Bennett that knocked him out of two games in the Florida Panthers-Boston Bruins second-round series last year.

Asked what he appreciates about Bennett, Marchand said, Uhhhhh, hes got a good right hook.

Advertisement Marchand laughed hard and triggered a similar roar from those listening in, but it was the type of joke that epitomizes how unique hockey players can be.

Hes had his share of nasty battles with Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk and so many of these Panthers over the years.

But after spending his entire career in Boston, Marchand was welcomed into Aleksander Barkovs locker room and felt comfortable enough to jump right into Panthers red.

Sure, it helped that Marchand and Bennett got to know each other in the 4 Nations Face-Off, at times playing on the same line, but these Panthers players let bygones be bygones because they knew Marchand could fit seamlessly with the personality of their team on and off the ice and help their chances at a repeat Stanley Cup championship.

Army, Ace and Biz went back to the tape on the shot Sam Bennett gave to Brad Marchand in Game 3 and they got some thoughts @armdog @ansoncarterla @biznasty2point0 pic.twitter.com/kqJRr2px5V NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) May 12, 2024 Marchand may be 37, but his 13 points in 15 playoff games are two behind Barkov for the team lead.

If the Panthers win it all again, the 2027 or 2028 first-round pick that Bill Zito spent to add Marchand to the lineup and the room will look like one of the biggest bargains imaginable.

The Panthers president of hockey operations and general manager was asked during a conversation with The Athletic last week if he worried that adding the 2011 Stanley Cup champion and future Hall of Famer could go sideways.

Zito was speechless for 15 seconds as he tried to find the right words.

I mean, that would be like saying, Where you going on your honeymoon?' Were going to Paris.

Well, that could go wrong.

How so? Is the Eiffel Tower going to fall down? Is Versailles closed? I mean, thats kind of silly.

Advertisement In other words, this is Brad Marchand were talking about.

You watch him play and you have so much respect for the compete, so much respect for the beating that he takes and the beating that he gives out, Zito said.

And his hands, his skill.

But until getting to know him, I could not have appreciated his intelligence, just as a person, as a human, independent of hockey, and his grace.

So why is it so easy for hockey players to kiss and make up when they join forces the way Marchand did with Bennett and the Panthers in South Florida? I think its just the internal respect we have for each other, understanding that what we do on the ice, its our job, and its because were competing for the same goal, Marchand explained.

And at the end of the day, youre willing to do things on the ice that arent typical of you, maybe, as a person off the ice.

And growing up, I think we learned to have that respect for each other off the ice.

And what happens on the sheet stays out there.

Its all understanding that were competing at the highest level and sometimes things go a little bit too far or get physical, but its not an indication of who you are as a person off the ice.

I think thats just kind of the hockey culture.

I cant speak for other leagues I havent really played any of the sports but in our culture, hockey-wise, you could get in a fight with a guy and meet up afterward and laugh about everything.

Its just how it is.

Youre doing a job when youre on the ice, and thats all it is.

So did Marchand and Bennett have to hash things out when they first met at the 4 Nations? Nope.

I mean, I didnt hold a grudge, Marchand said.

Again, I know how this game is played.

I play a similar way.

And its something that we joke about.

I can laugh it off.

Ive been in positions where Ive had calls like that, or Ive done things like that to guys that Ive ended up being teammates with, so ...

its not a personal thing.

Things happen on the ice and you move past it.

Advertisement But yeah, I laugh about it.

I joke about it all the time.

I joke about it more than he does.

Definitely joke about it.

Bennett said he truly loves Marchy ...

right from the moment I met him.

Hes just such an outgoing guy, such a great leader.

And hes been amazing for our group and just bringing everyone together.

His experience, everyone looks up to him.

Hes been nothing but a huge boost to this group.

Matthew Tkachuk, Brad Marchand, and Sam Bennett were all chirping the Lightning bench at the end of Game 2.

Absolute nightmare fuel for the rest of the NHL pic.twitter.com/S7ZQLAC1Pr B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 25, 2025 Panthers coach Paul Maurice has learned not to roll his eyes whenever the phone rings and Zito tells him, I think I can get Player X.

On July 22, 2022, exactly a month after Maurice was hired to coach the Panthers, Zito called to tell him, I think I can get Matthew Tkachuk.

Maurice was interviewing Sylvain Lefebvre at that moment to perhaps be one of his assistant coaches.

Maurice told Lefebvre, Thats potentially your new boss.

Thats my new boss.

Hes crazy.

Hes not getting Matthew Tkachuk.

A half hour later, the phone rang, Maurice recalled.

This year, on March 7, a half hour before the 3 p.m.

ET trade deadline, Maurice figured the Panthers were done for the day and was leaving when Zito walked out of the Panthers war room and asked him, What about this guy? That was the first time I said, Oh, hes serious,' Maurice said.

If he says it, it could happen.

But Maurice was initially nervous about the potential addition.

I didnt think we had a huge hole on our team, Maurice explained.

This was an add.

It wasnt, Hey, if we add this guy, its gonna fix a bunch of things.

I thought we were pretty good.

And then you dont know ...

How would that fit? I had never met the guy, so theres always a little bit of nervousness.

Theres as many stories about bringing in high-end guys toward the end of their career, and it doesnt work and it doesnt fit, but they were sure.

I would say the thing that I think that our management group does the best is they identify as guys that can come and fit in the room and play our style of game and kind of flourish.

Advertisement Zito is still bewildered that anybody could have been nervous.

Look, theres no decision thats a hundred percent, Zito said.

Even the easy decisions we make are like 49-51 percent one way or the other.

But I would say of all of the acquisitions, thats probably the easiest because of Marchys great body of work and knowing what youre getting.

On the ice, Marchand has integrated perfectly with Floridas sometimes brash, mean, nasty style.

Hes also helped guide battle-tested-yet-young linemates Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen.

All of a sudden, theyve got this Hall of Famer on their line who is supporting, giving advice, pushing them, prodding them, Zito said.

What a great experience for them to learn how to be a pro.

Marchand buries some nice sauce from Lundell pic.twitter.com/qsqqos1QZG Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) May 25, 2025 One thing hes teaching them is how to deal with pressure.

I think the thing that Ive found as Ive gone on is that pressure is made up.

Its a lot of noise, Marchand said.

Its a lot of media attention, or people talking about even friends and family, not just media.

But the more its talked about, the more it seems like theres pressure.

Pressures something you can embrace or something you can be nervous about.

When youve worked your whole life to be put in a position of success or to achieve something that you only ever dreamed of really potentially becoming a reality, in winning a Cup, thats got to excite you to want to be a difference maker and want to be a hero.

And when you get that opportunity to make a difference, its not to get nervous or (worry about) pressure or what happens if you lose.

The former Bruins captains personality and voice in the room have been appreciated, too.

Weve got actually more quiet guys than we have loud guys, so (theres a feeling of), OK, Marchys here, he can just do all the talking and we can just relax, Maurice said.

Marchys such a unique guy.

And hes as wired at breakfast as he is at gametime, where Barky, as you all know, is not doing a podcast when hes done.

(Former Panthers) Brandon Montour, (Ryan) Lomberg, they started talking on the car ride and didnt stop.

So it was nice to add that element.

We kind of lost a bit of that, so (Marchands) brought it.

Advertisement And as hockey fans likely already know, Marchand can be hilarious.

Even Maurice said he loves watching Marchands back-and-forths with reporters, like Saturday nights Sportsnet interview with Kyle Bukauskas, when Marchand perfectly played off a joke and had the sports world believing he was being fueled by chocolate chip cookie dough Blizzards from Dairy Queen.

Brad Marchand was downing a Cookie Dough DQ Blizzard during intermission Dude really said Blizzards > Hurricanes (h/t @Sportsnet ) pic.twitter.com/m571E5AKC1 B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 25, 2025 Being with him around the rink, away from the rink, has been a true treat, veteran defenseman Aaron Ekblad said.

Were very lucky to have him.

Theres no doubt he brings a lot of just everything you imagine to the team.

Hes proving it, showing it on the ice every day.

Its just fun to play with him.

Teammates have grown to enjoy him so much that theres a new tradition of shooting plastic rats at him as they leave the ice following victories.

Yeah, theyre shooting to hurt, Marchand said.

Chucky caught me with the one last game that, actually, I felt there.

Were having fun out there, and thats just a small sample.

Asked how the new tradition began, the man nicknamed The Rat joked, They just see all my family out there on the ice and want us to be together.

Count Paul Maurice as a fan of the Panthers new postgame win tradition of shooting rats at Brad Marchand.

"They're shooting them as hard as they can.

They're not flipping them.

...

It's funny as hell." (h/t @JamesonCoop ) pic.twitter.com/4f3LvPLqyr B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 23, 2025 Things like this happen organically, and Marchand sure hopes to get stung by high-flying plastic rats Monday night if the Panthers can pull off another sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes for a third consecutive Eastern Conference crown.

Im having a lot of fun, he said.

Its such a great group to be part of, and Ive been part of really good teams before, and theres been moments that I havent truly appreciated until Ive gone through it and I look back on it now.

So just try and enjoy every moment.

Advertisement These things go by fast.

I mean, theres only, what, three or four weeks left in the season? Youre trying to enjoy every single second of it, because you never know when its going to end, and you never know when you get an opportunity like this again.

(Photo of Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand: Peter Joneleit / Getty Images).

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