What Panthers Expect From Brad Marchand In Florida Debut
It appears it is go time for Brad Marchand to play the first game of his NHL career for a team other than the Bruins.
Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice told reporters Friday that they expect the former Boston captain to make his debut Friday night against Utah.
“Yeah, we expect, he got through the skate, (so) we expect him to be a player for us (Friday),” Maurice told reporters after Panthers morning skate Friday. “We’d say we’ll get him through warmup and see but he’s healed past that, we think. We expect him to play tonight.”
If Marchand indeed is in the lineup, it will be his first chance to play with his new team since Boston traded him on March 7. Marchand hasn’t played at all since suffering an upper-body injury against Pittsburgh on March 1 while still a member of the B’s.
While Marchand might be returning a little earlier than perhaps expected — early April was a targeted date — it’s not entirely surprising. Maurice revealed earlier this week the target date for a return was indeed Friday.
Marchand skated on a line with Mackie Samoskevich and Sam Bennett during morning skate. Maurice expects the trio to play well together, but he hopes they don’t try to show it all in one game.
“Just (looking for) a simplicity to it,” Maurice said. “He’s played, he’s had an incredible career. … It will be fun running the bench. It’s a different player in your lieup, and you get to start discovering things, thinking about things that could work if you want to change things.”
Undoubtedly, it will be a little weird and perhaps even emotional for Bruins fans to see Marchand in a sweater other than the Spoked-B. And while it might make it even more uncomfortable that Marchand is playing for a Boston rival, B’s fans should still hope to see Marchand succeed — and for reasons that extend beyond the goodness of their collective hearts. Boston acquired a 2027 conditional second-round draft pick for Marchand. That pick will become a first-round pick if the Panthers win two rounds in the playoffs this spring and if Marchand plays in 50% of Florida’s postseason games.