Ever since he did it with the Boston Bruins in 2011, Brad Marchand has wanted nothing more than to hoist the Stanley Cup one more time. Bruins fans have wanted to see him do it again, too – and now they might have to watch him do it with a different team.
And it's not just any team, either. Marchand, the former Bruins captain, is tantalizingly close to capturing the second Stanley Cup of his career with the Florida Panthers, the same team that eliminated Boston from the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.
Brad Marchand’s run with the Panthers is what Bruins fans feared most
Much to the chagrin of Boston fans, Marchand was dealt to Florida when the Bruins went into full "sell" mode at this year's trade deadline. A dynamic goal scorer whose agitating antics had been largely subdued by his captaincy in Boston, Marchand has since gone back to his roots, in a sense, as a pesky, bottom-six winger on a gritty Panthers team looking to become back-to-back champions.
Once a sworn enemy of the Panthers and their fans, Marchand has since been welcomed in South Florida with open arms. Not only has he endeared himself to the Florida faithful as the lovable "Rat King," but he has also provided the Panthers with exactly the kind of depth scoring they hoped to get from him when they traded for him. Through 17 postseason games, Marchand is fourth on the Panthers with 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) – all while playing bottom-six minutes.
Meanwhile, the team Marchand left behind in Boston faces an uncertain path ahead after failing to make the postseason for the first time in nearly a decade. Seemingly destined for a rebuild, the Bruins will benefit from Florida's run to the Cup Final, as the second-round draft pick they received in the trade for Marchand has since turned into a first-round pick. That small silver lining seems trivial, though, when weighed against the thought of seeing one of Boston's most beloved sports figures playing for a hated Atlantic Division rival.
It won't be easy for Bruins fans to see Marchand suit up for the Panthers in a Cup Final. Admittedly, though, it would be bittersweet to see him hoist Lord Stanley's Cup once again.
