Brad Marchand to the Canadiens? NHL insider drops major claim linking ex-Bruins star to Original 6 rivals

NHL insider John Buccigross said Brad Marchand might sign with the Montreal Canadiens. Marchand was traded from the Boston Bruins to the Florida Panthers. In return, Boston got a conditional second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. The Bruins also kept 50% of his salary.

Marchand is in the final year of his eight-year, $49,000,000 contract and will be a free agent after this season. Speaking on the "Morning Cuppa Hockey" podcast, with Jonny Lazarus, Buccigross said Marchand wants to stay in the northeast.

"I think it's either Florida or the northeast," Buccigross said. "I think he wants to stay in the northeast. So I'll go Montreal-Marchand. Go off the board a little bit there. Short flight to Boston if the family stays in Boston, 40-minute flight, and come home on weekends."

If Marchand does not stay with Florida, Montreal could be an option. The Canadiens might want an experienced player like him. For now, Marchand will focus on playing for Florida and helping the team in the playoffs.

Marchand played 16 seasons for the Bruins and was team captain for two years. Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said trading him was a tough decision. He said there was a gap in contract talks that they could not fix.

"We just had a gap, deep down in talking, really from Day 2 of free agency (last season) in terms of what his intentions were, where we were at, we always had a bit of term gap, it took us a while," Sweeney said.

"We had to make a really, really difficult decision to say 'Let's give Brad another opportunity with a really good team,' and then he can make a decision on what he thinks is best moving forward."

Brad Marchand has 47 points in 61 games this season. He is out with an upper-body injury and was expected to miss a few weeks. He might debut for Florida during their homestand. When he returns, he will play in the top six and on the first power-play unit.

Analyst Mike Grinnell criticized Bruins GM for trading Brad Marchand

Analyst Mike Grinnell criticized Don Sweeney for trading Brad Marchand. He believes the team should have kept Marchand and added more players.

"If the Bruins at the deadline signed Brad Marchand, and they went and traded for Brock Nelson and made additions then, yeah, put on the gas pedal. Let's go win this thing," Grinnell said, per Yard Barker.

"I didn't make this decision. Don Sweeney made the decision to throw in the towel. And any m*ron out there that says the Bruins are better without Brad Marchand, go f*** yourself."

Grinnell said trading Marchand was like giving up on the season.