Brad Marchand is the talk of the NHL at the moment, celebrating the Florida Panthers’ victory in the 2025 Stanley Cup Final more than any other player on the team’s roster. If he’s not trolling other NHL teams on his Instagram or having four pizzas delivered to a bar, he’s been working shifts at Dairy Queen or getting dragged out of a night club by Aleksander Barkov.
However, the good times will eventually come to an end, and Marchand has a big decision to make as an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shed some light on what Marchand’s next steps look like and which teams could throw their names in the ring to acquire the 37-year-old winger in the latest edition of his 32 Thoughts column.
“[Marchand] said before the Final, he’d consider all options,” Friedman writes. “At the same time, a few sources said he’d get at least $24 million on the open market. By the end, they were saying that was way too low. What you’re going to see here is different teams trying to hit the magic overall salary number, but at different terms and structures.
“Florida is first up, obviously, with the advantage of already being a perfect fit and good state taxes. If he doesn’t stay, Toronto and Utah are expected to be among the serious pursuers. Utah has indicated it is not crazy about term, Toronto could prefer to stretch it out, but, watching him in the final, who wouldn’t want him? Los Angeles (who had a deal with Boston, only to find out Marchand wanted Florida), New Jersey, Washington, etc., etc., he can fit anywhere.”
While Friedman was likely just spitballing with the final few teams he mentioned, including the Washington Capitals, he seems to have good information about the overall market for Marchand.
Marchand doesn’t exactly fit the “keep getting younger” approach that the Capitals’ front office has said they plan to adopt this summer, but the infamous pest would fit a need for the Caps and help them contend for a championship in what could be Alex Ovechkin’s final NHL season.
The Capitals have just nine forwards who were playoff regulars this past spring signed to contracts for next year, and will need to look for further depth up front this summer. The search for a solid top-nine winger only becomes more urgent if the club plans on playing Connor McMichael down the middle to fill their hole at third-line center.
Marchand recorded 51 points (23g, 28a) in 71 games split between the Boston Bruins and Panthers this past season. He added 20 points (10g, 10a) in 23 playoff games for the Panthers, en route to winning the second Stanley Cup of his career.
Marchand, the most recent Bruins captain, has had more than a few heated run-ins with the Capitals in the past, but he had a similar history with the Panthers before being an ultra-successful trade-deadline addition last March. If he were to end up on the Caps, Marchand would have even more protection to do what he does best – annoy the opposition – with someone like Tom Wilson now watching his back instead of hunting him down.
Per PuckPedia, the Capitals are set to have $9.375 million in cap space this summer. The team’s defense and goaltenders are already locked in for next season, leaving general manager Chris Patrick some work to do with just his forwards.
Marchand and the Panthers could still make all of this discussion moot if they can agree on an extension before he hits free agency. General manager Bill Zito has made it clear he hopes to retain all of Florida’s pending free agents, and Marchand also seems pretty receptive to a potential return.
“I’m not f—ing leaving,” Marchand told a Panthers fan on Friday night.
According to PuckPedia, the Panthers will have $19 million in space this offseason. Marchand is not the only key player potentially headed for free agency, though, as Conn Smythe Trophy winner Sam Bennett and longtime defenseman Aaron Ekblad join a list that also includes Nate Schmidt, Tomas Nosek, Nico Sturm, Mackie Samoskevich, Jaycob Megna, and Vitek Vanecek, all of whom are without deals for next season.
Marchand’s last deal, an 8-year extension signed with the Bruins in 2017, saw him paid $6.125 million against the cap each year.
