Panthers hope Brad Marchand will be back before end of 2024-25 regular season

Mar 11, 2025, 13:15 EDT

Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) celebrates his second goal against the New York Islanders during the first period at UBS Arena.

Credit: Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images

Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice told the media on Tuesday that the team is hopeful that recently-acquired winger Brad Marchand will make his debut with the team before the end of the 2024-25 regular season.

Marchand is currently out of the lineup on a week-to-week basis due to an upper-body injury. He sustained the injury back on March 1st in the Boston Bruins‘ 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins when Pierre-Olivier Joseph checked him into the boards.

With the Panthers season ending on Tuesday, April 15th, that leaves them with exactly five weeks left in the season for Marchand to return and get acclimated with the team and their system before the start of the playoffs.

The update comes on the day that the Panthers play Marchand’s former team in Boston. Marchand won’t be able to play in the game due to the injury, but will still be in TD Gardens as a member of the road team for the first time in his career.

Marchand was traded to the Panthers in a shocking last-minute deal at Friday’s trade deadline, with Florida sending the Bruins a conditional second-round pick that can become a first if the Panthers make the Eastern Conference Final and Marchand plays in 50% of their games.

The trade came in the wake of a contract disagreement between Marchand and the Bruins, as Marchand is a pending UFA with his eight-year contract with a $6.125 million cap hit in its’ final year. Once the Bruins were unwilling to meet Marchand’s demands for a new contract, they looked to explore a trade, and with Marchand wanting to join the Panthers, the Bruins fulfilled the wishes of their captain and longtime player.

Marchand has been struggling with production a bit more than usual for him, as he has just 21 goals and 26 assists for 47 points in 61 games this season. That would have put him on pace for 62 points before his injury, his lowest point total since 2015-16 before he broke out as an elite winger in the league.

The Panthers currently sit atop the Atlantic Division with a 40-21-3 record. They’ll look to continue their six-game winning streak during Marchand’s return to Boston on Tuesday at 7 p.m. EST.