Florida Panthers star winger Brad Marchand has had Tuesday’s game circled on his calendar.
The Panthers are set to go on the road to play the Boston Bruins on Tuesday, marking Marchand’s return to Boston. Marchand played 16 seasons with the Bruins, but was traded to Florida at last year’s trade deadline, where he helped the Panthers win the Stanley Cup.
Marchand ended up signing a six-year extension with Florida, and once he re-signed, he looked at when he would be making his return to Boston. Ahead of his return, Marchand is expecting it to be emotional and weird, but something he’s looking forward to.
“It’s going to be weird,” Marchand said to NHL.com. “I think there’s going to be a lot of different emotions, even playing in the 4 Nations for Canada was different. There’s a mix. A mix of emotions being on the other side of it. There’s a lot that goes with the situation I’m in now. So yeah, a mix of nerves, mix of emotions, happy and sad.”
Marchand served as Bruins captain for two seasons before being traded, and was the face of the franchise. He helped Boston win the Stanley Cup in 2011, and he’s hoping the fans cheer him, rather than booing him.
“I don’t expect there to be too many boos,” Marchand said. “There may be some. I think with the relationship that I had with the fans in my tenure there, I’m sure there will still be some fans there. I think a lot of people are not too happy about the fact that it’s Florida that I’m with after some of the battles that we’ve had recently with them.
“But I still think they’ll be able to separate me from that and kind of what we’ve all been through together. But that could change pretty quick, knowing the Boston fans, they’re very emotional and supportive of their team. So they might have forgotten already. We’ll see.”
The Bruins will host the Panthers on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
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