Panthers place Brad Marchand on long-term injured reserve

It looks like the end of the road for one of the league’s more prominent veterans, at least for this year.

According to Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards, the Florida Panthers placed forward Brad Marchand on long-term injured reserve.

The move was made on Tuesday night to make room for defenseman Seth Jones, who was making his long-awaited return to the lineup after suffering an injury at the Winter Classic back on Jan. 2, as the Panthers took on the Vancouver Canucks. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions ended up losing 5-2, giving the Cats back-to-back losses.

Marchand has been out of action since March 6 with a lower-body injury. Head coach Paul Maurice noted that Marchand was going to be evaluated by a doctor a little over a week ago, noting that the veteran winger was going to miss some time due to the ailment. While it wasn’t revealed when or how Marchand was hurt, he had reportedly been playing through a nagging injury prior to his departure from the lineup.

With Marchand presumably being placed on LTIR retroactive to his last appearance, he could theoretically return to the lineup on April 2, when Florida takes on the Boston Bruins. However, with eight games left in the regular season at that point, and the Panthers well out of a playoff spot, it might mean No. 63 remains in the press box for the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign.

The Halifax native had been one of the more consistent players on a team that has battled numerous injuries this year. In 52 games, Marchand has scored 27 goals and 27 assists for 54 points, still good for second on the team in scoring behind Sam Reinhart.

The Panthers (33-31-3) are last in the Atlantic Division, five points ahead of the New York Rangers for the worst record in the Eastern Conference.