Brad Marchand enjoying a 'special' moment with Stanley Cup Final return — as his free-agent stock soars

EDMONTON There are a lot of hockey executives scattered around North America currently looking at their rosters and cooking up ways to get better.

As the Stanley Cup Final gets underway Wednesday, theyll be watching from afar as the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers battle it out again for a championship.

And many will no doubt have their eyes trained on No.

63 in white, Brad Marchand, who is now less than four weeks away from potentially hitting the open market for the first time in his NHL career.

Advertisement To say that the 37-year-old has boosted his market value this postseason is an understatement.

As both the oldest Panther and the newest Panther, Marchand has unquestionably been among the teams most effective performers during its third consecutive run to the Final this spring.

Theres no secrets as to what he is as a player, as a competitor, Florida general manager Bill Zito said of Marchand.

Getting to know him a little bit more (as) a human, hes more special than I could have imagined on that front.

As a teammate and as a character human.

From that standpoint, its like frosting on the cake.

Thats what has to make the prospect of pursuing Marchand in free agency so appealing.

The proof of concept is staring everyone directly in the face.

If a team is looking for a culture-setter or a big-game performer who can alter the composition of its DNA, Marchand stands out.

Hes played more than 210 even-strength minutes during these playoffs and has only been on the ice for five goals against.

Hes among the Panthers leaders with 14 points, which includes an overtime goal in Round 2 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

His line with Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen is officially listed as Floridas third, but its arguably been the best.

And all of his Panthers teammates rave about the guy.

The one thing that really stands out is just his natural leadership, Sam Bennett said.

He doesnt even have to try, and hes just such a natural leader that guys look up to.

Taking the shift disturber out of Boston, as the Panthers did with a March 7 trade that will probably go down as the most important one made at this years deadline, did not take any of the effectiveness out of Marchands game.

In fact, its arguably only enhanced his reputation.

Multiple league sources said they believe that Marchand will command as much as $8 million on his next contract, which means hes in line for a nice raise on the $6.125 million hed been earning on the eight-year extension he signed with the Bruins in 2016.

Advertisement Dont be surprised if his next contract runs beyond his 40th birthday, too.

Its no real coincidence that Marchands best hockey of the season has come during these playoffs not after he spent three months recovering from elbow, groin and abdominal surgeries last summer.

That left him playing catch-up during a season in which he finished with 51 points his lowest total since 2014-15 and compounded the strain he felt while negotiations on a contract that would have made him a lifelong Bruin sputtered.

It was stressful in a lot of senses, just because some of them were situations that I really hadnt been in before, said Marchand.

I wouldnt say I dealt with them great.

Yeah, the business side of it, I let it frustrate me and then obviously our team (in Boston) wasnt having the success that we expected.

We were having a hard time getting it back on track, and then eventually we did, and we thought we were climbing back into a playoff position and then we just kind of fell apart.

There were different hurdles that continued to get frustrating and were stressful throughout the year.

Marchand couldnt have asked for a better landing spot than Florida, where he joined the team he felt was best equipped to emerge from the Eastern Conference.

The trade for a first-round pick in either 2027 or 2028 only materialized after the Bruins captain first used his partial no-trade clause to block another proposed move to a team based in the Western Conference.

Its hard to believe now, but Marchand felt anxious about how things would go with his new club.

He was injured when the trade was completed, and his only thought while working his way back to health was that he hoped coach Paul Maurice would dress him among the 12 forwards once he was ready.

When you look at the lineup, I was honestly like, I think Im playing fourth line again.

Back to my roots, Marchand said.

I didnt have many expectations.

I knew playing against the Panthers this year that they were the team that I felt in the East was the team that was going to make a run.

So I was just excited to be part of it.

I didnt have expectations of where I was going to play or what I was going to do.

Advertisement As it turns out, he fits right in among a group that gets on the forecheck and likes to play in its opponents face.

Marchand has been welcomed off the ice, too.

It helped that he played with Bennett and Sam Reinhart while representing Canada at Februarys 4 Nations Face-Off and has the kind of personality that makes his presence quickly known in every room.

He was just an awesome guy (at the 4 Nations), Bennett said.

I really liked him.

I was surprised how much I liked him with all of the battles we had against each other (before then).

While a prolonged stay in Florida cant be ruled out for Marchand, more lucrative offers will probably come from elsewhere on July 1.

The Panthers also have big free-agent decisions pending with Bennett and Aaron Ekblad this summer.

Marchand figures to have an open mind when it comes time to consider his options, which should be viewed as a hopeful sign for anyone out there with available cap space and a desire to employ him.

In the here and now, he is bursting with gratitude.

He won a Stanley Cup in 2011 at the end of his first full NHL season with the Bruins and lost in the Final with them in 2013 and 2019.

You watch your 15, 16, 17 years go by, and you really had one opportunity to do it, Marchand said.

It makes it pretty special to be here again.

(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images).

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