“Brad’s a big moment guy,” the Panthers’ GM, Bill Zito, could hardly stop lauding Brad Marchand after the winger’s stupendous performance against the Maple Leafs in Game 7 of Round 2 of the playoffs. And after tonight, Zito’s fondness for the newest Florida signee will only grow stronger.

In Game 2 against the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Canadian hockey sensation pulled out yet another scintillating trick out of the hat. Snatching the puck from the hosts, Marchand scored a breakaway goal by slipping it past Stuart Skinner’s pads to bring the Panthers the victory and level the best-of-7 series. That was his second goal of the night—one that got him into the history books.

Brad Marchand’s first goal of the night, scored in the second period from a pass by Anton Lundell, gave the Cats the lead. The shorthand goal almost won Florida the game, before the Oilers’ Corey Perry managed to tie the match in the third period. However, by the end of the night, it was the Panthers’ winger who had the last laugh. And with that, a new boasting right, Sportsnet Stats highlighted in a post on X from June 6.

“Panthers Brad Marchand is the only player in history to score a shorthanded goal, followed by an Overtime goal in a #StanleyCup Final game,” the social media update gleefully noted Brad Marchand’s latest feat. The goal came in the second period of the OT, after the first period went goalless. However, it wasn’t an easy thing to dodge past Skinner, who made 37 saves in Game to make the Panthers’ life miserable. 

Marchand’s goal came on the heels of Corey Perry’s own historic moment. Tying the game for the last time of the night, to send things to overtime, Perry scored the latest game-tying goal in Cup Final history at 19:42 of the third period. With that goal, Brad now has five career OT goals in the Stanley Cup postseason, and two in the 2025 playoffs.

“He’s been incredible for us this whole playoffs, scoring massive goals at massive times. That one was definitely the biggest,” said Sam Bennett, a fellow Canadian, of his teammate’s incredible play at Rogers Place tonight. “They’re very intense games,” Brad Marchand also admitted after the game was over and the feeling of victory finally sunk in. However, now that the 37-year-old has made it clear that age hasn’t been able to affect his skills with the stick significantly, how could this affect his future?

Could the history-making move extend Brad Marchand’s stay in Miami?

Brad Marchand now has 17 points in the 2025 postseason. That’s just below Sam Bennett’s (19) number and tied with Matthew Tkachuk and captain Aleksander Barkov. With five games still to go in the Stanley Cup Finals, these numbers can only be expected to go higher. But what’s next? The winger will become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and rumors about his NHL future are rife.

On Friday, fresh talks about Marchand’s potential move to Toronto came to the fore. Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos suggested that the Maple Leafs could be a viable option for Brad since the Atlantic Division giants are looking to rebuild their squad for the next season. With Marchand repeating his playoff antics from 14 years ago tonight, it should be suspected that the Leafs would do all in their power to make the transition a reality.

But, on the other hand, Brad is having a pretty good time in Miami. And his play has been a treat to watch. From the Panthers’ fans to the General Manager of the franchise, everyone has lauded Marchand repeatedly since his arrival in Florida. Now, with the star getting his name on the scoresheet in two back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals games, could the folks over at the top finally get the ball rolling in a bid to retain the ex-Bruins captain where he is now?

We’ll have to wait to know for sure!