Injured Brad Marchand returns to the Boston ice with the Panthers — but just in practice, for now

BOSTON (AP) — Brad Marchand stepped back onto the ice at the TD Garden on Tuesday — this time in a Panthers practice jersey as the longtime Bruin returned to Boston for the first time since he was traded to Florida.

Although Marchand is injured and was inactive for the game against his former team, the 11-minute morning skate was his first opportunity to practice with his new teammates.

“Definitely still a little bit that I’ve got to get through here,” said Marchand, who did play in Boston as a visitor for Canada last month in the 4 Nations Face-Off. “I got a little bit of a feel for it. It still felt weird."

Marchand watched the game, which Boston rallied to win 3-2, from the locker room, then spent some time catching up with Charlie McAvoy and other former teammates in the hallway. A Bruins spokesman said the team had a video tribute ready but will hold it until Marchand can be in the arena to see it.

A four-time All-Star who is the Bruins’ career leader in playoff, short-handed and overtime goals, Marchand helped Boston win the Stanley Cup as a rookie and guided the Original Six franchise to NHL records of 65 wins and 135 points in 2023.

But with the Bruins losing eight of nine games and likely to miss the postseason for the first time since 2016, he was sent to Florida on Friday for a second-round draft pick that could become a first-rounder if Marchand returns to the ice and helps the Panthers advance in the playoffs. The trade deadline fire sale signaled the end of the franchise’s most successful era since Bobby Orr won two Stanley Cup titles in the 1970s.

Marchand, who is eligible to become a free agent after this season, had been offered a contract extension, but the sides could not agree on terms.

“I think they had the right intentions,” Marchand told reporters on Tuesday, wearing a Panthers hat and T-shirt just down the hall from the locker room he called home for 16 seasons.

“They tried to do what was best for the team and also give me an opportunity to stay if I wanted to. And they put a position on the table that they felt was fair,” he said. “But I also understand that it may be time to kind of reset and go in a different direction. I think they were at a crossroads as well.”

Marchand has 21 goals and 26 assists this season but has not played since leaving the March 1 game against Pittsburgh with an unspecified upper-body injury. Panthers coach Paul Maurice said he remains week to week, with the goal of getting him back at the end of the regular season.

“That was the hope, that was kind of the idea," Maurice said. "We wanted him to get on the ice and move some pucks around just to see where he was at. So that was a positive.”

Maurice said he's liked what he's seen so far from Marchand, an oft-suspended gadfly who gained a reputation as a troublemaker before maturing into his role as the Bruins captain for the past two seasons. The Panthers coach said he wants Marchand to be himself and not try to change just to fit in with a defending championship roster that already includes leaders such as Aleksander Barkov, Aaron Ekblad and Matthew Tkachuk.

“We have a lot of different personalities. It’s not all the same guy,” Maurice said. "But that’s what makes it fun. So bring your own personality; be exactly who you are. Don’t ever try to be somebody you’re not. Because that’s not what we traded for.

“If you’re funny, be funny. If you're not, just sit there and laugh. Whatever it is that you are, be yourself,” the coach said. “And I think when you come into a little more veteran team, you have a better chance of doing that.”

Marchand said he didn't feel obligated to be a vocal leader on his new team. But on the other hand, he doesn't plan to tone down his outspoken style, either.

“Why would I do that? I think that’s just me. I wouldn’t be able to do that anyways,” Marchand said. “Do you think I need to tone it down? My wife does.

“So, yeah,” he said. "I’m just going to be me.”

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