Ex-NHLer rips into Bruins for trading Panthers hero Brad Marchand after sealing Stanley Cup title - "He's your captain, a legend"

Without Brad Marchand, the Florida Panthers might not have won the Stanley Cup Final. The defending champions had a bit of a down year by their standards, but trading for Marchand proved to be the catalyst.

He helped them navigate the Eastern Conference and put on a show during the finals. He was close to winning the Conn Smythe Trophy after being a midseason acquisition.

He came from an Eastern Conference foe, the Boston Bruins. They helped hand Florida a title, and former NHL player Ryan Whitney was unhappy that they did.

"One of the first thoughts in my spaces was, like, Boston, there you go," Whitney said on Wednesday, via "Spittin' Chiclets."

"You trade. What are you doing? Like, for being that bad to then, like, trade him, and then you wouldn't. What did he want from Boston? What am I missing here? Even if you're like, sort of rebuilding, like he's your captain, a legend, you what did they why did they trade him?"

Marchand is a franchise icon, but he was also a pending free agent on a bad team. The Bruins got some capital back for a few months without him, and they could bring him back in free agency.

However, Whitney still can't believe they traded him to a rival in the first place.

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Brad Marchand reflects on title after over a decade

Fourteen years ago, the Boston Bruins, who were led by a young Brad Marchand, won the Stanley Cup. He now has a second one with only his second team, and it feels "completely different," according to him.

Brad Marchand has a second title (Imagn)

"I have so much more respect and appreciation for how difficult it was to get here, how hard it is and the amount of things that need to go right to win. Everything has to line up perfectly," Marchand said on Tuesday, via ESPN. "My situation's a perfect example of that. I shouldn't have been here, but it worked out."

Marchand's former teammate, Shawn Thornton, is now a business executive for the Panthers. He praised Marchand and said that he expected greatness from him.

"He's been a big-game player his whole career," Thornton said. "In 2011, he was arguably our best player. I wasn't surprised to see the magic he was making. I don't think the age thing is in his head."

Florida knocked Boston out in 2023 and 2024 on its way to Final appearances, but this time, Marchand went with them.