The 2025 NHL Trade Deadline was an exciting affair on Friday afternoon. However, some of the biggest bombshells did not become public knowledge until after the 3 PM deadline passed. For instance, the Boston Bruins traded captain Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers in one of the more stunning deals at the deadline this season.
The Bruins and Marchand tried to work out a contract before Friday. Marchand, Boston’s captain for the last few seasons, had spent his entire career with the team. And the future Hall of Famer gave no indication he wanted to leave. However, there were things the two sides could not overcome, as Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman laid out on Saturday Headlines.
“I think the Bruins and the player agreed on term — three years. But as (Boston GM) Don Sweeney said yesterday, there was a gap. And there was a gap on AAV. I don’t think (Marchand) was being asked to take a pay cut. But I do think it was a sizable gap they obviously could not bridge,” Friedman said on Saturday night.
“Where I think this really went sideways was that there was a point this week where Brad Marchand, who is currently injured and not in the lineup, asked for a face-to-face meeting with Bruins management. I don’t know exactly when it was. And I don’t know exactly who was there. But it did happen. In that meeting, Brad Marchand asked for a compromise…it just didn’t happen. The Bruins had gone as far as they were willing to go,” Friedman continued.
Panthers’ Brad Marchand is set to become a free agent
The Bruins reached a point of no return in contract talks with their captain. As a result, they sent him to their division rival Florida Panthers in exchange for a conditional second-round pick. In the end, Boston decided to get something lest he walk out the door for nothing.
Marchand is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. The future Hall of Famer is in the back end of his career at 36 years old. Still, he remains a very effective player. He can play in a top six role for any team across the NHL. He will certainly have a few interested teams to choose from if he reaches NHL Free Agency this summer.
The now-former Bruins captain has to finish this season with the Panthers, however. Florida will have the first chance to re-sign him once its season ends sometime in the spring. it will certainly be interesting to see if Marchand’s stay in South Florida becomes something more long-term at the end of the season.
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