The defending Stanley Cup champions pulled off another blockbuster deal just under the wire at the NHL trade deadline. The Florida Panthers have acquired Brad Marchand from the Boston Bruins as they continued to load up for another long and arduous playoff run.

Boston captain Brad Marchand was shipped to the Florida Panthers on Friday, a deal near the end of the NHL trade deadline that sent a longtime Bruins star to not only a division rival, but a first-place team gearing up for another run at the Stanley Cup.

Mikko Rantanen went back West — but with the Dallas Stars this time following a brief stint in Carolina. And Bruins captain Brad Marchand is leaving Boston after 16 seasons to join the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.

But at that time, the belief was that the Bruins would be Stanley Cup contenders not fighting for their playoff lives. If the Bruins chose to trade Marchand, who is still a productive player and leader at 36,

Boston has traded captain Brad Marchand to the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.

Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand is being dealt to the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney confirmed on Friday.

Katrina Marchand shared an emotional farewell message on Instagram following her husband and former Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand’s shocking trade from the Boston Bruins to the Florida Panthers. Marchand, who had spent all 16 of his NHL seasons with the Bruins, was moved at the deadline after he and the team failed to agree on a new contract.

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Panthers get: Forward Brad Marchand (at 50 percent salary retention) Bruins get: Conditional second-round pick in 2027 (becomes a 2027 or 2028 first-rounder if Florida wins two rounds of the playoffs this year and Marchand appears in at least 50 percent of the team’s playoff games)

Aleksander Barkov looked across the Florida Panthers' locker room on Saturday morning and noticed a new addition.