Before former Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand became part of the Florida Panthers’ title-winning team, he spent nearly 16 full seasons on the other side of the heated rivalry.
Marchand's tenure with the Bruins included two postseason matchups against the Cats — both of them ending in a Boston loss — and endless regular-season battles with Florida.
Just last year, the Bruins crashed out of the playoffs in the conference semifinals, losing in six games to the Panthers, a series marked by a Sam Bennett sucker punch to the head of Marchand that sidelined the veteran.
Now teammates after a midseason trade brought Marchand to Florida, the two forwards helped the Panthers win their second consecutive Stanley Cup in their third straight finals appearance.
Marchand joined the Panthers in March and made an immediate impact, scoring 10 goals and 20 points in 23 playoff games and adding his second career championship to the 2011 title he won with Boston.
"I'm so happy that I don't have to worry about getting knocked out by Benny anymore"
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) June 22, 2025
Brad Marchand keeping it real during his speech pic.twitter.com/MRxuDdsEDh
Bennett, meanwhile, led the Panthers with 15 goals in the playoffs and won the Conn Smythe Trophy over Marchand.
During Sunday’s victory parade in Fort Lauderdale, Marchand made sure to bring that history back into the spotlight with a hilarious message.
“I never could have imagined being part of something so special,” Marchand said. “I’m so happy that I don’t have to play against these guys anymore. And I’m so happy I don’t have to worry about getting knocked out by Benny anymore.”
Bennett embraced that "dirty" role once again this year and shared a savage message about it while standing at the podium during Sunday's celebrations.
“They call us dirty, they call us nasty, they call us bullies,” Bennett said. “I’d like to take this time to apologize to absolutely (expletive) no one.
"We’re the double champs. We do what the (expletive) we want!”
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