Brad Marchand Grateful for Championship Chance with Panthers

For Florida Panthers' forward Brad Marchand, he knows his days in the NHL could be numbered. He does not have a contract for next season. This might be his final opportunity to play for a Stanley Cup Championship.

He still is able to rest easy and not worry about too much. He is mentally ready for the series to come.

“I honestly feel less stressed now going into this Final than I did in the first round of the last five playoffs I was in,” Marchand said to NHL.com. “I’m just so excited for it. I’m not nervous about it at all. At the end of the day, however it plays out, it’s going to play out."

“Statistically, it’ll most likely be my last one; hopefully it’s not, but that’s just how this game works," Marchand said. I’m just going to enjoy every second of it.”

Marchand and the Panthers open up defense of their Stanley Cup Championship on Wednesday night against the Edmonton Oilers. Marchand was a member of the Boston Bruins last season and was not around for the much talked-about seven game series between the same two teams.

“I’ve been on the best regular-season team to ever put skates on, and we didn’t accomplish anything,” Marchand said, referring to the 2022-23 Bruins, who set the NHL record for wins (65) and points (135) before being stunned by the Panthers in the Eastern Conference First Round. “You never know. You can be a great team on paper and do extremely incredible things in the regular season, but so many things have to go right to make the Final, to make a long run. It’s so hard to predict with any team."

“I hope it’s not [my last]. But realistically I have a few years left," Marchand said. "Hopefully I can have another run, but if not, hopefully can take advantage of this one.”

Marchand was a March 7 trade-deadline acquisition. His family is not in Florida as they did not make the move. All Marchand does is play hockey, practice, rest and repeat.

“My family’s not here, so literally the only thing I have to do here is to focus on hockey and to recover and to rest and to get my mind prepared for games,” he said. “And then, when I’m at the rink, the only thing I have to do is focus on me. I don’t have to try to manage everything else and worry about a whole team. I just worry about what I have to do to put my best game on the ice.”