It actually happened. The Boston Bruins are trading captain Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers, according to multiple reports.
The return was not immediately known.
Marchand, 36, is in the final year of his contract. While he and the Bruins had negotiated throughout this season on a potential extension, they were never able to reach an agreement.
According to sources and other reports, the major sticking point was term, with the Bruins hoping to keep any deal short-term while Marchand wanted more security as he aims to play into his 40s.
With the Bruins’ season not going the way they had hoped and a playoff spot continuing to slip out of reach, general manager Don Sweeney and the front office reached a point where they needed to decide whether to move Marchand now or hang onto him in hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations, knowing that would come with the risk of losing Marchand for nothing after the season.
Clearly, the Bruins did not want to take that risk, so they decided to trade their captain – something this organization last did in 2005 with Joe Thornton – for pieces that they hope will help jumpstart this retool that is now clearly in full swing.
The Bruins also traded away Charlie Coyle and Brandon Carlo on Friday, according to reports, in addition to Trent Frederic and Justin Brazeau earlier in the week.
Marchand’s new team, the Panthers, ended the Bruins’ season each of the past two seasons. In an interesting twist, the Bruins will host the Panthers at TD Garden on Tuesday.