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Conn Smythe Winner Sam Bennett Shares Heartwarming Words About Former Rival Brad Marchand

Originally posted on Blade of Steel | By Jack Sutherland | Last updated Jun 18, 2025 4:32 PM ET

Once bitter foes with one another, Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand are now teammates and forever 2025 Stanley Cup champions with the Florida Panthers.

Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett knows all about having to face Brad Marchand in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, having battled against him 2 years straight against the Bruins.

Bennett and the Panthers shocked Marchand and the Bruins, who had won an NHL-record 65 games in 2022-23, in 7 games in the 2023 ECQF and then beat them again the following year.

This year, Marchand was dealt from the divisional foe Panthers to the Bruins in what is now being considered as one of the most significant and monumental Trade Deadline deals in NHL history.

Bennett, Marchand, and the Panthers are Stanley Cup champions after their victory over the Edmonton Oilers; Bennett was named the recipient of the Conn Smythe Trophy as postseason MVP, while Marchand was also in consideration after scoring 6 goals in the Cup Final.

Bennett spoke glowingly about Marchand not long after winning the Conn Smythe:

As soon as he got traded here, he chirped me in the group chat instantly for our history and the last playoffs. What he's meant to this team, I truly don't think we win a Stanley Cup without him. His leadership, his will to win, it's inspiring. I was telling him before every game, 'We're going to follow you.' And we did. He was a dog every night. He for sure could have won this trophy.