The Boston Bruins reportedly made Brad Marchand an embarrassing offer of two years at $3 million AAV, before ultimately deciding to trade him to the Panthers.
The Boston Bruins pulled off a shocking trade at Friday's NHL trade deadline, dealing captain and franchise legend Brad Marchand to the arch-rival Florida Panthers.
In exchange, Boston got a conditional 2027 second-round pick that becomes a first-rounder in 2027 or 2028 if Florida advances at least two rounds in the 2025 playoffs and Marchand appears in at least half of those contests.
The Bruins retained 50% of his salary. Marchand's exit shuts the book on an era, as he was the last remaining player from Boston's 2011 Stanley Cup-winning team.
The 16-year vet had indicated that he wanted to retire a Bruin, but talks of an extension broke down.
'(We) just had a gap. Deep down we had been talking really from Day 2 of free agency in terms of what his intentions were and where we were at,' Bruins general manager Don Sweeney told reporters at a press conference Friday. 'And we always had a bit of a term gap that took us a while, and felt that we had been able to bridge that. But again, a player is more than entitled to have an understanding of what they think their market value is and do what's best for them. And I have to always respect that. There's never an ounce of me that won't respect what that player thinks is best for him and his family. And that's a decision that was made.'
The Bruins lowballed Marchand with a $3 million AAV contract
Boston's low offer of two years at $3 million per season allegedly irked Marchand before the team chose to deal him away, per John Buccigross.
The return for Marchand was widely viewed as underwhelming, though his recent upper-body injury, expected to sideline him three to four weeks, likely hurt his trade value.
Marchand debuted with the Bruins in 2009-10 and developed into one of the NHL's top two-way wingers, becoming famous for his elite-level scoring, unlimited competitiveness, and ability to get under the skin of opponents.
Losing him leaves an enormous void in the Boston lineup and leadership group and is a monumental changing of the guard for the franchise.
