Details are in on the B’s return in the Brad Marchand trade
The details are in on what the Bruins are getting from the Panthers in the Brad Marchand trade.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – APRIL 30: Brad Marchand #63 of the Boston Bruins looks on during the second period against the Florida Panthers in Game Seven of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden on April 30, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
After almost three full hours of waiting, Don Sweeney and the Bruins have officially provided the details on the exact return they will receive from the Panthers in the stunning trade that sent captain and career-long Bruin Brad Marchand to the Panthers on Friday afternoon.
Confirmed by the Bruins, the Black and Gold will receive just one piece from the Panthers in the trade, and it won't even be a first-round pick or young roster player, with the Bruins currently on the hook to receive just one conditional second-round pick from Florida in exchange for their 36-year-old Marchand.
As for the conditions to elevate it into a first-round selection, the pick Florida is sending to the Bruins will become a 2027 or 2028 first-round draft pick if Florida wins two rounds of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs and Marchand appears in at least 50% of the team’s playoff games.
Speaking with reporters on Friday night, Sweeney initially misspoke and noted that Marchand would only have to play in 25 percent of Florida's playoff games for the pick to become a first. A subsequent press release from the Bruins, as well as confirmation from the Panthers' Bill Zito, confirmed that number was 50 percent and involved the Panthers going on a multi-round run with Marchand in their lineup.
The underwhelming return certainly speaks to the potential severity of Marchand's injury, which occurred in Boston's Mar. 1 win over the Penguins, especially with the Bruins and Panthers even acknowledging that Marchand may be in a situation where he plays in less than 50 percent of Florida's playoff games. For what it's worth, last postseason was the first time Marchand missed a playoff game for any reason in his NHL career, and it came because he was sucker-punched into a concussion that physically removed him from the Boston lineup. (And even then, Marchand seemingly hinted at almost lying about — or downplaying, at the very least — his symptoms to rush back into action for the Bruins in Game 6.)
Marchand is currently dealing with an upper-body injury that's left him out week-to-week, with Sweeney noting that their timeline for Marchand was originally considered to featured a 3-to-4 week recovery.
