As the Boston Bruins are well aware, it’s an amazing feeling to have Brad Marchand on your side. From rattling the opponents, to offensive firepower, to hyping up his teammates, he’s a player who contributes on and off the ice in spades. And right now, for the Florida Panthers, his stats really say it all. Right now, in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Marchand has really been a key player for the Florida Panthers, racking up 3 goals, 9 assists, and a total of 12 points, all while sporting a +11 plus-minus rating. After Round 2 Game 7 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Panthers coach Paul Maurice even said, “You guys won’t like hearing this, but there’s a Brad Marchand effect there.”

Now, this particular effect is not new. Indeed, it has even been discussed by Marchand’s teammates in his new NHL franchise. Want to take a guess? Well, it was Matthew Tkachuk – the same person he had a chirping session with during the 4 Nations Face-Off. “So we have to use that to our advantage. And bringing in a guy like Marshy, who’s done it before and been on such a great team, and year after year being on great playoff runs, we couldn’t have asked for a better addition,” Tkachuk said.

But back to Maurice—he talked about a particular play from one of his players that was inspired by Marchand. He said, “There is. And that’s a [Anton] Lundell score tonight, a roll off the slot hole. And he’s affected those guys in such a positive way about thinking about the game and the small-area plays. And I felt those two young guys had it in them, but the role that I gave them stunted them. I wouldn’t let them do that.”

According to Maurice, you can really feel Marchand’s mentality throughout Florida’s locker room. Players like Lundell, who found the net in Game 7 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, scored in a way that someone like Brad can. The coach mentioned that it’s something he can bring to the team.

“Every puck deep, all that stuff, on it and above it, get it deep, put the puck at the net. It’s not a lot of creativity in the way that I coach, right? It’s pretty simple. Brad comes in and says, hey, we can do all those things, but we can also make some plays around here, fellas. And so it starts in practice, right? They start close supporting small area plays. And there’s some hands there,” Maurice said. Well, how is Brad doing now that his new team has advanced to the Eastern Conference Final?

Brad Marchand gets honest about the Panthers’ locker room

“It was difficult when I first got here, just because I wasn’t playing. We had a ton of games, and I wasn’t skating with the team at all. I wasn’t around the group as much as you need to be to really transition into the system, and into the team, and the dynamics of everything,” Brad Marchand shared about his journey to becoming a core player for the Florida Panthers. Well, it was unexpected. Honestly, who would have thought Marchand would ever wear a jersey from any other team besides the Boston Bruins?

Getting released from the Bruins ruins to the Panthers swamp, a lot of things changed for the hockey forward, but it came slowly. Right after the trade went down, Marchand was dealing with an injury, so he couldn’t play or even hit the ice with his new teammates. That created a bit of distance in forming connections with his new peers. But as soon as he hit the ice again, everything started looking up for him.

“The guys are just there to help every day. When you have a veteran group and guys that have been through big moments before, everyone just goes about their business. It’s very easy to fall into place and just do your role. It’s a special group.” Marchand said. The locker room really helped him out, and that’s how his transition ended up being a lot smoother in the end. So, the Panthers are heading to the Eastern Conference Final! It’ll be interesting to see if they can take down the Carolina Hurricanes and make it to another Stanley Cup Finals.