SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) 鈥� Brad Marchand sure made himself at home in Florida. Now he's a .
Getting Marchand at the trade deadline from Boston for what ended up being a single first-round pick turned out to be a genius move by Florida as he scored six often timely goals against Edmonton in the final while providing vocal and physical leadership every shift.
It culminated with a victory in Game 6 on Tuesday night that left him grinning on the ice with the rest of the Panthers.
鈥淓verything has to line up perfectly,鈥� Marchand said. "My situation鈥檚 a perfect example of that. Like, I shouldn鈥檛 have been here. But it worked out, and I鈥檓 enjoying the hell out of it.鈥�
The 37-year-old winger had wondered if he'd be returning to his roots as a fourth-liner but instead had a major impact on the third line alongside young Finns Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen.
鈥淚 truly don鈥檛 think we win a Stanley Cup without him,鈥� leading playoff goal-scorer and Conn Smythe Trophy winner Sam Bennett said of Marchand. 鈥淗is leadership, his will to win, it鈥檚 inspiring. I was telling him before every game, 鈥榃e鈥檙e going to follow you.鈥� And we did. He was a dog every night.鈥�
Marchand hoisted the Cup again 14 years after winning it with the Bruins in 2011 against Vancouver. Among his signature moments, the Nova Scotia native scored two highlight-reel goals in Game 5 at Edmonton to put the Panthers ahead in a heavyweight final.
鈥淗e鈥檚 been amazing for us all playoffs,鈥� teammate Matthew Tkachuk said. 鈥淗e seems to keep finding another gear. The more important the game, the better he is.鈥�
Marchand said he felt at home with his new team.
鈥淲e just had that fire. We knew we had something special,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 such an incredible culture and everyone that鈥檚 come in here, it鈥檚 like we鈥檝e been here a lot longer than a few months. It鈥檚 a family. Guys love each other in this room. You buy into it immediately. Guys embrace you. It鈥檚 incredible.鈥�
Getting Marchand was an 11th-hour move. Coach Paul Maurice was about to leave the team鈥檚 practice facility a half-hour before the deadline when general manager Bill Zito came out of his office and said, 鈥淲hat about Brad Marchand?鈥�
鈥淚f he had asked that a year and a half ago, I would鈥檝e thought he was joking,鈥� Maurice said. 鈥淏ut he鈥檚 been able to find these players that we didn鈥檛 think were possible and he鈥檚 been able to get these deals done. When he fired that out, I think there was a bit of a pause, his face was serious, everybody nodded and that鈥檚 it.鈥�
Marchand for what turned out to be a first-round pick seems like a steal, even if he departs as a free agent this summer. He turned out to be an ideal fit and was a big reason the Panthers went back to back.
鈥淗e just happened to be the perfect style of player to take that line to a completely different level, and that鈥檚 where our need was,鈥� Maurice said. 鈥淲hat Bill has always done here in my experience, he鈥檚 identified the need and filled the hole.鈥�
On the ice, Marchand was a breath of fresh air and maybe the final piece of the puzzle. He also brought his trademark mouth to the equation, always chatting guys up and filling the void for noise when necessary.
鈥淲ith Brad, the whole room knows, so there鈥檚 no secrets of what he is as a player, as a competitor,鈥� Zito said. 鈥淕etting to know him a little bit more as a human, he鈥檚 more special than I could have imagined on that front as a teammate and as a character human. From that standpoint, it was like frosting on the cake.鈥�
Will he be back?
鈥淲e鈥檒l see what happens here soon," Marchand said before heading off to celebrate.
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AP NHL playoffs: and
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
