Key Takeaways
- Veteran Brad Marchand signed a six-year, $31.5 million contract with the Florida Panthers this offseason after helping them win another Stanley Cup.
- In an exclusive interview with RG, Marchand said Aaron Ekblad and Sam Bennett also inking new deals were key factors in staying in South Florida.
- “Those guys are awesome, guys that I really vibe with well," Marchand said.
Brad Marchand inked a six-year extension with the Panthers this offseason (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Brad Marchand is not going anywhere anytime soon.
The veteran left winger is coming off a tremendous year with the Florida Panthers after concluding a legendary 16-season career with the Boston Bruins. Marchand was arguably the Panthers' playoff MVP after notching 10 goals and 10 assists to go along with a +17 plus/minus rating, the second-best mark on the team. In addition, Marchand scored three game-winning goals, including one in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Edmonton Oilers in double overtime.
As the Panthers look to become the first team since the early 1980s New York Islanders to win three Stanley Cups in a row, Florida's entire core, including Marchand, is returning. The 37-year-old signed a six-year deal in the offseason. Conn Smythe winner Sam Bennett and longtime defenseman Aaron Ekblad also re-signed.
"Bennett and E coming back were huge factors in me staying," says Marchand in a one-on-one interview with RG. "Those guys are awesome, guys that I really vibe with well, and I really wanted to stay there. I just didn't really think it was going to be possible. I didn't pay a ton of attention to the cap situation they were in, but I knew that we were up against it."
Panthers Lock up Core
The Panthers were able to make it work, thanks to General Manager and President of Hockey Operations Bill Zito getting it done. The re-signing of Bennett was the first domino to fall before the re-signings of Ekblad, and eventually, Marchand followed.
Both Bennett and Ekblad inked eight-year deals. Meanwhile, key core member Sam Reinhart re-signed on his own eight-year deal last offseason. In other words, the Panthers are not only a team that thrives on the ice, they're a roster full of guys who love playing together.
Considering most of the core is young with the exception of Marchand and Sergei Bobrovsky (36 years old), it doesn't appear the Panthers are done winning anytime soon.
"They enjoy being part of it and being part of the relationships that we build every day," says Marchand. "When you get to be part of an incredible organization like Florida, they make it easy to be around. It was the youngest I have felt in a long time walking into that room, the way they do things and the way they take care of themselves in there, I felt very rejuvenated. I'm excited to be part of it for a long time."
"My thing has always been and one of my coaches early on in my career said this to me, "we have such a short window to play this game and to enjoy this and we call it a job, but it's not like we're playing a game for a living," says Marchand. "We get to do something that we grew up loving, and it keeps us young and keeps our minds young, and we get to experience something pretty special every day."
Marchand's current contract will carry over until he's 43 years old. The oldest player during the 2024-25 season was 40-year-old Marc-Andre Fleury. When asked if he plans to play during his entire contract, Marchand says he'll play until they "kick" him out of the league.
"They're going to have to kick me out of the league for me to go," says Marchand. "I'm going to play until I can't play anymore. When I heard one of my coaches say that, it always stuck with me. The longer you play, you realize how close you are to the finish. It's like you want to hold on to that as long as you can.That was always my mindset, and it is today. I want to play as long as I possibly can."
Marchand Hoping to End Career in Florida
Marchand says this latest contract, which will likely be his last, "solidifies" that he's going to play in South Florida for a long time.
"This contract solidifies that I'm going to play for a long time here, and I have every intention of playing it out," says Marchand. "Hopefully I can keep up with the young guys here in the next number of years here. It's something I want to hold on to as long as I can. My family loves it."
It also doesn't hurt that the Panthers have become South Florida's most beloved team. In an area where many remember the glory days of the Miami Dolphins of the 1970s and the Dan Marino era, along with many millennials who grew up to witness the Miami Heat win three NBA Finals, that's saying something. The Panthers have emerged as a bona fide NHL powerhouse, and South Florida has taken notice with a season ticket renewal rate of more than 91% -- that's with ticket prices rising 36.5%.
Marchand, who comes from a city (Boston) with arguably the most passionate fan base in sports, speaks highly of how passionate Panthers fans are in South Florida.
"When I kind of got in there and became part of the team, you walk around, I didn't think that people in Florida really cared about hockey and did a whole lot about it," says Marchand. "But when you walk around there, the love that the people have for the team right now and the game and how much that's grown is incredible. It's awesome to see and you walk around the streets and the beach -- that's incredible to do, just in general and all the fan support that you get down there is pretty incredible. "I was very surprised how deep rooted they are in such a short period of time here over the last few years and how much it has grown. It's been pretty incredible to be a part of."
