A year on since playoff hit, Brad Marchand clears the air on relationship with now Panthers teammate Sam Bennett

One year ago, Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett were bitter playoff rivals. Now, they are Florida Panthers teammates chasing the Stanley Cup.

During the 2024 playoffs in May, Bennett appeared to sucker punch Marchand in the second-round series between the Panthers and Boston Bruins. Marchand missed two games, but no suspension followed.

It was a heated moment in a tense series. Few imagined then that they'd soon share a locker room.

But hockey moves fast and Marchand joined Florida in a trade from Boston on Mar. 7, after contract talks with the Bruins - the team that drafted him in 2006, where he won a Stanley Cup and wore the “C” for two seasons - broke down.

Now in Florida, Brad Marchand has adjusted. The playoffs help, and so does winning.

More surprising, perhaps, is his chemistry with Sam Bennett. The two first played together in February at the 4 Nations Faceoff, helping Team Canada win the title. That time laid the groundwork for what is now a growing bond on the Panthers.

Marchand says there’s no lingering resentment over last year’s hit.

"I didn't hold a grudge," Marchand said, via ESPN. "Again, I know how this game's played. I played a similar way. It's something that we joke about. I can laugh it off. I joke about it all the time. I joke about it more than he does, but I definitely joke about it."

Even off the ice, Brad Marchand has become part of the Florida Panthers' traditions. After home wins, plastic rats are shot at him as a joke by teammates.

“They're shooting to hurt now,” Marchand laughed.

Marchand further added that Matthew Tkachuk recently threw one that hurt him.

"Matthew Tkachuk caught me with one last game that I actually really felt there," Marchand said.

As the Panthers prepare for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Oilers, Marchand is embracing the moment.

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Brad Marchand talked about his "Dairy Queen Blizzard" joke

Brad Marchand recently became part of a funny story during the Panthers' playoff run. In an interview, he joked about eating a Dairy Queen Blizzard between periods. Many fans and the media believed it.

Marchand later explained he was only joking and wasn’t eating ice cream. He said he actually had a spoonful of honey during the game. The Blizzard talk came from a team visit to Dairy Queen earlier that week.

"It wasn't a Blizzard. I was not eating a Blizzard in the middle of a game." Marchand said, via ESPN. "I was referencing that. I was making a joke about our excursion a couple of nights before. Just kind of making a joke off of it and I think people took it seriously,"

Brad Marchand has loved honey since he was a kid. He used to feed it to a Winnie the Pooh doll.