Florida Panthers News

Home

Quizzes

Newsletter

Jun 4, 2025; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Florida Panthers center Brad Marchand (63) reacts after scoring a goal against the Edmonton Oilers during the first period in game one of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

Panthers Likely Not Bringing Back Brad Marchand Despite Performance

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Joey Ganzi | Last updated Jun 9, 2025 2:35 PM ET

The Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers is tied at 1-1 heading into Game 3 on Monday night after the Panthers won Game 2 in double overtime on Friday. The game-winner was scored by the team’s trade deadline acquisition, forward Brad Marchand. Throughout this postseason, he’s been everything the Panthers traded for.

He’s second on the team in goals with seven, second with a plus-14 rating, and tied for second on the team in points with 17. However, those hoping to keep Marchand in South Florida next season may want to adjust their expectations, as there are too many factors that will get in the way of a new contract.

Panthers Might Want to Prioritize Other Players

Marchand will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the playoffs. However, two of the Panthers’ most important players are also in the final year of their contracts: forward Sam Bennett and defenseman Aaron Ekblad.

Bennett has been an absolute menace in the playoffs since he was acquired via trade back in 2021, and he leads the league in playoff scoring in 2025. Aaron Ekblad was the team’s first-overall pick in 2014 and a Calder Trophy winner. He’s stated how much he would like to stay a Panther (From ‘Pending UFA Aaron Ekblad hopes to re-sign: ‘I live and breathe for the Florida Panthers’ – The Athletic, 6/7/2025).

“I live and breathe for the Florida Panthers. I bleed for the Florida Panthers. I’ve given my body and everything to this team, and I want to keep doing it… forever, for as long as they’ll let me come to the rink.”
Aaron Ekblad on staying with the Florida Panthers

Management is likely to allocate their funds to re-sign one or both of these guys. Unless he takes a massive pay cut, Marchand will be the odd man out.

Marchand Not Getting Any Younger

There is nothing wrong with veteran leadership, which is a big reason why Marchand was acquired in the first place. But he is not the same player who was making Toronto Maple Leafs fans crazy in the mid-2010s.

At 37 years old, there is no telling how much he has left in the tank. His playoff performance suggests he can keep going, but he could be a different player next season.

Marchand Might Want More Money

Marchand has earned the right to negotiate a salary that works for him, but Florida might simply not have the funds to pay him.

In his last deal signed by the Boston Bruins, he earned $6.13 million per year for eight years. With the way he’s been performing this postseason, he will command some extra money on the free-agent market, and some teams will be willing to pay it.

It Would Be Nice to Have Marchand in Florida

Not only has Marchand been a huge factor in the team’s playoff success, but he’s also become a huge piece of the locker room in his short time in Florida; he gets pelted with rubber rats at the end of every win. He even started a team tradition of visiting a local Dairy Queen before certain games. But the logistics of keeping him in a Panther uniform are too complicated to make it work. For now, the team has to make the best of his services in the Cup Final in hopes that he and the Panthers will collect their second Stanley Cup.