Marchand Returns to Boston: Emotional Return and Ovation at TD Garden

The “Little Ball of Hate” still feels a lot of love for Boston. Brad Marchand fought back tears on the ice as the TD Garden crowd gave him a standing ovation on Tuesday night, during his first game as an opponent of the Bruins. The 37-year-old forward touched his heart, wiped his face, and saluted the crowd as both teams tapped their sticks against the ice, and even the referee and linesmen applauded.

“I knew it was going to affect me the way it did. It was extremely touching,” Marchand said after the game, a 4-3 Panthers victory in which he had two assists. “The Bruins will always have a very, very special place in my heart.”

Brad Marchand

The last remaining member of the Boston team that won the Stanley Cup in 2011, Marchand was traded from the non-competing Bruins to the Panthers last season to have another chance at a title. He helped Florida complete their quest for consecutive championships, while Boston fell to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

“I left and turned the page and found something really special again, of which I am very, very proud and blessed to be a part. And I chose to be a part again,” said Marchand, who re-signed with the Panthers in the offseason for a six-year contract worth about $32 million.

Brad Marchand

“I built something really special with every guy on this team last year, with the victory. You build a bond that will last a lifetime. So I try not to show any disrespect that way, as if I weren’t grateful, because I am. “But I’ve been here for several months. I’ve been in Boston for 15 years,” he said. “When you go from being a kid, with a dream, and then you grow up and have a family, you become a man and build a whole life in a city, it’s different. Of course, it will always be in my heart and it will always be a special place.” Marchand got his first taste of the welcome he would receive when the crowd cheered him as he left the ice after pre-game warmups, as the DJ played a medley of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” The former Bruins captain responded with a stick salute as he headed to the visitors’ bench.

The fans wearing Marchand’s number 63 jerseys from Boston and Florida cheered again during the introductions, then booed when he received a tripping penalty just 33 seconds into the game. “I knew it wouldn’t take long,” he said with a smile. There was a mixed reaction when the Panthers scored on the power play, a goal that initially appeared to be Marchand’s but was credited to Mackie Samoskevich; Marchand got his first assist. But things got really emotional during the first commercial break, midway through the first period, when the scoreboard showed a reel of highlights from Marchand’s time in Boston, including images of him being anointed with the “C” of captain that he wore for just over a full season. It ended with a photo of him holding the Stanley Cup and the message “Welcome back, Marchy”. Marchand circled the Panthers’ bench, saluting the fans and holding his heart. His face betrayed his emotions as he took his place on the bench, still on the verge of collapsing, and the crowd chanted his name.

“Those tears are real,” said Florida coach Paul Maurice during a televised interview at the game. “He just wears his heart on his sleeve. He had so many great moments here, he won a Stanley Cup here. He will always be a Bruin at heart.”

Paul MauriceMarchand said he was able to control himself for the most part until his children appeared on the scoreboard.

“It hit me like a ton of bricks,” he said. “Careers go fast. No matter how long you’re in, it goes extremely fast. And to see a snapshot of that, it brings it all back. The amount of pride I have to have played here and to be a part of this organization, I just couldn’t help it.”

Brad Marchand

Attention soon returned to hockey, with the Panthers taking a 2-0 lead in the second period. Marchand received a hooking penalty, which drew cheers from the crowd, and assisted on the goal that gave Florida a 3-2 lead with 1:31 remaining. The Bruins tied the game again before Carter Verhaeghe put the Panthers ahead for good with 27 seconds left to play. But the lasting memories will be of Marchand. “He had a lot of good memories in this building, and he’s been a part of this franchise for so long. So it’s good, like, to sit back and be a part of history a little bit,” Verhaeghe said. “He’s a great guy and we’re very lucky to have him. I can only imagine what it meant to the city and to the fans.” Four-time All-Star, with 422 goals and 554 assists in 16 seasons in Boston, Marchand remains in the Bruins’ top 10 in goals, assists, shorthanded goals, overtime goals, playoff goals and points. His 1,090 games played are fourth in team history, one place ahead of Don Sweeney, the general manager who traded him to Florida at the trade deadline. Marchand did play at TD Garden as a visitor in February when he wore the Canada uniform in the 4 Nations Face-Off; although he was still a member of the Bruins, Boston fans booed him during a moment of heightened geopolitical animosity between the United States and Canada. He was traded to Florida a few weeks later when Boston began a rebuild. But when the Panthers visited for the Bruins’ first home game after the trade deadline, Marchand was injured and only skated on the Garden ice during practice.