FORT LAUDERDALE — Brad Marchand made headlines during the Florida Panthers end-of-season meeting with the media almost two weeks ago when he said he would “rather miss the playoffs than lose in the Final.’’
Either way, Marchand surmised, “you don’t win. There’s one winner, and everyone else is a loser.’’
Since joining the Panthers last March, he did not do a lot of losing.
Before the Panthers’ season started to unravel in January, it looked like Florida may be able to survive some early injuries and make a run at a three-peat as Stanley Cup champions.
Yet, things did unravel and the team fell out of contention by the time Marchand and a bunch of his teammates flew to Milan for the Winter Olympics in February.
And, he wishes things worked out a little different.
“It was disappointing the way the year played out,’’ Marchand said. “But you definitely learn something about your group every year, regardless of how it goes. I love the mindset of the guys every single day.
“We were fighting an uphill battle with everything the team had been going through. … It didn’t go our way, and there was a ton of adversity, but I loved how we stuck together as a group.’’
Despite how things ended, Marchand ended up having a pretty good year.
On March 7, 2025, the Panthers acquired the Boston Bruins’ captain for what turned out to be a first-round pick in 2028.
Although Marchand was injured at the time of the trade, he joined the team for the final 10 games of the regular season and, well, worked to figure things out.
Paired with Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen, Marchand’s line was one of Florida’s best throughout the playoffs.
Marchand ended up being one of Florida’s most clutch players (10 goals, 20 points in 23 games) as he won the Stanley Cup for just the second time in what will certainly be a Hall of Fame career.
A few days later, he signed a new six-year contract with the Panthers worth almost $32 million to stay with his new team.
Marchand instantly became one of the most recognizable and, surprisingly even to him, popular athletes in South Florida.
He even had a Blizzard named after him a Dairy Queen — at least briefly.
Fast forward to the start of the new season and Marchand helped carry the Panthers offensively with Matthew Tkachuk and Sasha Barkov among Florida’s injured.
He impressed teammates and coaches alike with not only his work ethic, but his productivity as well.
In February, he got to play for Team Canada at the Olympics for the first time in his life.
Despite a nagging injury that he’s going to have to deal with, perhaps even with surgery, this offseason, it had been a pretty good year for one Brad Marchand.