FORT LAUDERDALE — Brad Marchand was face-timing with his kids on Sunday night and just before ending the call he showed them something they’d never seen before.
He’d never seen it either. He grabbed his brand new Florida Panthers’ baseball cap and modelled it for the kids.
His new team. His first time. It looked weird. “It was a weird feeling,” Marchand said early Monday morning in a 20-minute introductory press conference. “(Today) this is the first time I’m all decked out in (red). How’s it look? Reality is setting in here.”
A reality that has come with shock and emotion, with opportunities both lost and present, with the lifelong Boston Bruin, the captain, the voice of the franchise, is neither captain nor Bruin anymore.
Among other things, like getting healthy and getting back on the ice, Marchand wants to set the record straight on his final days in Boston. He wanted to remain a Bruin. The Bruins wanted him to stay. The two sides couldn’t meet on a reasonable agreement.
“I want to set the record straight,” said Marchand, trying to get ahead of the usual online nonsense. “I don’t have any ill will towards the management group.”
He mentioned the general manager Don Sweeney by name and his boss, Cam Neely as well.
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“I’ve had an incredible run with the organization and I’m extremely proud how things went there.” He then paused because he had to. His voice shook just slightly. The words took a second or so to come out properly.
“It was very disappointing things didn’t get done. I loved it there. I wanted to stay there. But at the end of the day, I know business is business and every player has a shelf life. Sometimes things out of your control (like Boston being out of a playoff spot) dictate your situation.
“I do believe Sweens is one of, it not, the best general manager in the league. I’ve watched him — (and then he paused for another needed emotional break) for a very long time excel at his job.”
His voice cracked. You don’t give your life to a team, to a profession, to the way in which Marchand plays and leads and speaks publicly and does everything winners who go beyond the call do and walk away easily after being dealt to Florida at the deadline. There’s too much still unsettled. There’s especially shock to your system, even more so on Monday as his first flight as a Panther lands in Boston of all place for Tuesday’s game between Florida and the Bruins.
Marchand is still not healthy enough to play. He isn’t sure when he’ll return from injury but he’s hoping it’s soon. The trip to Boston works out for him — a chance to say goodbye to teammates he couldn’t talk to at the deadline, a chance to pick up some stuff from the house, maybe even a chance to wave to a fan or two who supported him briskly over the past 16 years.
Sixteen years a Bruin, a Stanley Cup champion, a fan favourite, a Team Canada stalwart: Four days as a Panther. He’s happy to be playing for the defending Stanley Cup champions. He thanks GM Sweeney for making that possible He’s happy to have to be on the same team with play-alike centre Sam Bennett and the ultimate superstar pest, Matthew Tkachuk.
He said of Bennett yesterday: “He’s still a scumbag.” He didn’t really finish the sentence. He could have said, but he’s my scumbag now.
He called the possibility of playing with Bennett and Tkachuk “a dangerous combination.
“They know how to stir the pot and create havoc out there. I refer to them as Predators. Because when you’re on the ice, you need to know where those guys are at all times … It’s a dangerous combination.
“Those guys (Bennett, Tkachuk, other Panthers) are incredible players. They have created a niche and a game and has allowed them to have an incredible amount of success in the league. (He mentioned the Panthers had knocked the Bruins out of the playoffs the last two seasons.)
“What I love about them, they play the right way. Those guys are built for playoffs. They’re built to win. They play a winning style. They’re very difficult to play against … “It’s extremely exciting to be part of such an incredible group.”
That’s tomorrow or the day after that. The past is still so fresh it’s hard to walk away from.
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“It would have been an incredible opportunity to stay in Boston and play in one place my entire career,” Marchand said. “But I’ve always had this attitude that you need to be grateful for every opportunity and that it’s a privilege to be part of this league.
“When the trade happened I was disappointed and I was sad. But I’m extremely grateful that I get to come to an incredible place, an incredible team. A very competitive team. And that’s what you want.
“Ultimately, we chase the Stanley Cup. You want a chance every year to be part of a team that has that opportunity. You never know how long you have in the league. You have never know when your last day will be. And you want to make the most of it.”
There wasn’t a lot of talk of the future on his first Panthers availability. Will he stay here beyond this season? Will he return to Boston. Will there be a place for him next winter on the Canadian Olympic team?
Still so many questions to come, so many answers to ponder over. Marchand is 24 points away from being the rare 1,000 point, 1,000 games played and 1,000 penalty minutes player. But first he needs to fit in, even if it’s just for the rest of this season.
“I’m not coming in here to step on toes but I’m not going to change who I am?”
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