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Elliotte Friedman Reveals Details of Failed Brad Marchand Trade to Pacific Division Team

Originally posted on House of Hockey | By Tom Banks | Last updated May 7, 2025 1:38 PM ET

Brad Marchand was moved to the Florida Panthers at the deadline, but according to Elliotte Friedman, a team in the West pushed hard to land the veteran star.

The Florida Panthers made a blockbuster trade at the deadline to land Brad Marchand, and although the two parties were rivals for years, he's fit in seamlessly with the defending Stanley Cup Champions.

Things have worked out well for Florida and Marchand thus far, as they cruised through the first round and the Tampa Bay Lightning, and now, they're battling the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team they've beaten before, and with Marchand on the team now, optimism is high that they can do it again.

However, things almost went very differently, as Elliotte Friedman has noted on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast that there was a team in the Western Conference pushing hard to land Marchand.

According to Friedman, the Los Angeles Kings pushed very hard to land the former Boston Bruins captain, and after falling short against the Edmonton Oilers, it's safe to say that the addition of Marchand would have been a very good one for this team.

For No. 63 though, he had made up his mind early in the process that it was either Florida or Boston, and with the Bruins believing it was time to move on from their captain, they took the best offer they could get from the Panthers, leaving the Kings high and dry.

It's unclear exactly how far discussions got with the Bruins and the Kings and whether or not Marchand was even consulted about the possibility of joining the Pacific Division, but after flaming out in round one, it's safe to say that Marchand made the best move for his hockey career.

This article first appeared on House of Hockey and was syndicated with permission.

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