Brad Marchand Compares New Panthers Teammate To Bruins Legend

Former Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand spent most of his career playing alongside legendary center Patrice Bergeron.

After being traded to the Florida Panthers by Bruins general manager Don Sweeney at the NHL trade deadline, Marchand skated with Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe, a spot normally occupied by Sam Reinhart, for line rushes during morning skate at TD Garden.

“I don’t think Rhino morning skates or something like that. I’m not sure,” Marchand said when he met with the media after practice before the Bruins host the Panthers in an Atlantic Division clash Tuesday night. “They just threw me up there because he wasn’t on the ice.”

The 2011 Stanley Cup champion sang the two-time Selke winner’s praises when asked what he liked about skating with Barkov.

“He’s so incredible. The way he’s so skilled. Very, very sound defensively,” Marchand said. “Every aspect of his game, he is another Bergy in that sense.

“It’s a lot of fun to be playing with him than against him. He’s one of those guys that can make you pay at any time on the ice. He’s always holding on to pucks you can’t take from him. He’s so big and strong. He can score. He makes plays. He does it all. … There’s not many guys that are like that, so he’s obviously the best two-way player in the game here now, and a huge reason why Florida has become the powerhouse that they have is because of him.”

Marchand played with six-time Selke winner Bergeron for 14 seasons in Boston. The pair was a big factor in the Bruins winning their sixth title in franchise history after a 38-year drought. Marchand described Barkov as carrying himself similarly to the way Bergeron did during his 19 seasons wearing the Spoked-B.

“It’s not just the on-ice stuff, but you hear the way the guys talk about him off the ice and just watching him, the way he trains and eats and takes care of himself,” Marchand said. “There’s a reason why he’s the best two-way player in the game now. It’s his details. Those things don’t happen by accident.”

Barkov won the top defensive forward honors for the 2021-22 and 2023-24 seasons. Drafted second overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft by the Panthers, Barkov has scored 283 goals and registered 488 assists across 791 games for Florida.