Panthers hope to get Brad Marchand back from injury ‘early in the season’

The Florida Panthers are letting Brad Marchand return at his own pace.

The Hockey News‘ David Dwork was among the reporters who spoke with Panthers general manager Bill Zito Wednesday. During the scrum, Zito said Florida expects Marchand back “early in the season,” adding that the team is taking a conservative approach with his recovery.

Marchand’s last game of the 2025-26 season came March 6 against the Detroit Red Wings, where he was held to 11:53 of ice time. He missed Florida’s final 19 games and would undergo surgery for an unspecified injury in August.

“Unfortunately I had to have surgery,” Marchand, 38, said in August. “I was trying to fix without surgery but unfortunately that wasn’t able to happen and had to kind of do it last minute. With the time and the recovery I’m going to need I won’t be able to make it and play in the game.”

Marchand had 27 goals and 27 assists for 54 points in 52 games with the Panthers last season. Since entering the league in 2009, Marchand has recorded 451 goals and 583 assists for 1,034 points and 1,153 penalty minutes with Florida and the Boston Bruins.

The Halifax native has reached the 80-point mark five times in his 17-year career, including a 2018-19 campaign with Boston that saw him post a career-high 100 points (36 goals and 64 assists).

He also has 66 goals and 92 assists for 158 points in 180 career playoff games. He won the Stanley Cup in 2011 with the Bruins and again in 2025 with the Panthers.

With files from Daily Faceoff’s Scott Maxwell and Tyler Kuehl