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Brad Marchand returns to Boston with nerves, excitement, and plenty of gratitude
“It kind of hits you when you're here a little bit more."
Brad Marchand is no stranger to playing heel in opposing barns.
The longtime Bruins winger has long relished his role as the target of fans’ vitriol whenever he steps out on the ice in spots like Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and — prior to last spring — Florida.
But, the 37-year-old winger finds himself wading into uncharted waters on Tuesday night.
For the first time in his NHL career, Marchand will take to the ice at TD Garden as an opponent as the Panthers take on Boston in a nationally-televised matchup.
“It’ll be fun to play the Bruins,” Marchand said Monday after the Panthers wrapped up practice at TD Garden. “It’ll be fun to play against teammates and have friends and family in the building again. These are things that down the road I think I’ll really appreciate.
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“And there’s been enough moments that I kind of went through and I didn’t take it in enough and really appreciated it. And this one that I will make sure [I] do.”
Marchand is no stranger to receiving some chirps in Boston, especially while competing against Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
But competing in front of a sea of black-and-gold sweaters — and assuming the role of antagonist against a team he played for across 16 seasons — will present mixed emotions for the veteran once the puck finally drops.
“I kind of thought about it for the first time last night, being here, actually going to dinner and on the way over, I was kind of thinking about it and starting to get a little emotional,” Marchand said. “It kind of hits you when you’re here a little bit more.
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“I haven’t thought about a ton up until this point, but I think that’s probably why I don’t, because then I’ll get emotional about it. But it’ll be hard not to. There’s just — there’s too many memories. And I was here too long for it not to.”
Marchand, who went out to dinner on Sunday night with his former Bruins teammates in Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, Tuukka Rask, and Adam McQuaid, doesn’t expect the pleasantries to extend out onto the ice Tuesday.
While Marchand anticipates plenty of chats both before and after Tuesday’s game, both the Bruins and Panthers are entering the game at TD Garden mired in four-game losing streaks.
Beyond the urgency presented to both teams, all it takes is one post-whistle shove for the longstanding friendships and bonds between Marchand and the Bruins to dissipate — if only for a short time.
“It’ll be different for sure. Being on the other side of it, you always want to go in and there’s a respect factor for a lot for the guys,” Marchand said of matching up against his old teammates. “But it gets pretty intense pretty quick out there.
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“It takes one guy kind of even bumping you the wrong way, and emotions get high. They have a very competitive team, aggressive style, and guys compete. So it’s just naturally going to be elevated. So yeah, I’m sure we’ll keep the nice chatter for before or after.”
It’s a reunion that also isn’t lost on the players remaining in Boston’s dressing room, several of whom skated alongside Marchand for years before he was dealt to Florida at last year’s roster fire-sale.
“It’ll definitely send me back a little if he’s got some chirps for me, that’ll feel like practice all over again,” Charlie McAvoy said Sunday. “But I am really excited to see him. That’s a game that, we’ve got to go home and we’ve got to get this right. So we’ve got to win that game. But after, [I’m] looking forward to giving him a big hug.”
It’s been a whirlwind for Marchand over the last year — who went from a franchise fixture in Boston to a key cog in Florida’s second-straight Stanley Cup title in June.
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His future now secure in Florida after inking a six-year contract with the Panthers before free agency commenced, Marchand feels at home with his new club. He’s fixated on helping Florida become the first NHL club to three-peat since the Islanders in the early ‘80s.
But, as he braces for the cheers (and jeers) that await when he emerges from the visitor’s tunnel on Tuesday, Marchand expressed gratitude for the team and fanbase that embraced him for well over a decade.
“Fans, for sure,” Marchand said when asked about the best thing about Boston. “Hockey wise, the city’s incredible. …. The fans make it awesome, and they’re just very unique. Some of the stories and things that I’ve seen fans do — a lot of them aren’t PG-rated — in playoff runs and stuff like that.
“It’s so special, and I think it’s so unique to this area. … I mean, all the way down, they bleed black and gold, and that’s part of why I think there’s so much pressure on the teams that have success, and why they focus on it so much. I mean, you can’t slip. You guys see it, you’re all here every day, and you don’t have the ability to slip in this city or you’re gonna hear about it. We wanted to produce and be good for the fans and live up to that reputation. So it makes it special to play here.”
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