The Bruins shocked hockey fans everywhere by trading captain Brad Marchand to their division rival Florida Panthers at the trade deadline on Friday.
Trading Marchand sounded more and more likely than agreeing to a contract extension as this past week went along. But, the ultimate destination stunned the NHL, along with the return for Boston: a 2027 conditional second-round draft pick.
TSN Sports’ Chris Johnston had reported on Thursday that if Marchand was to be dealt, he would likely be heading to a west coast team. Instead, he joins the Atlantic Division-leading Panthers down the stretch.