The Florida Panthers stunned the NHL world when they traded for Brad Marchand. Though the former Boston Bruins captain is dealing with an upper-body injury, general manager Bill Zito still saw an opportunity to bolster his team ahead of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Marchand suffered the injury on March 1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins and was listed as week-to-week. Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said they expected Marchand to be sidelined for three-to-four weeks.
Zito joined the “NHL on TNT” broadcast on Sunday and revealed Marchand came to the Panthers facility on Saturday and met with the doctors. The GM added that everyone will get together at some point Sunday to get more specifics.
“My short answer is I don’t know,” Zito said of when the Panthers can expect Marchand to play in his first game for them. “We should know in short order.”
Marchand leaves Boston after 16 seasons, the last two of which he was the team’s captain. But with the Bruins on the outside of the playoff picture and a gap in contract extension talks, Sweeney traded Marchand to the reigning Stanley Cup champions.
“We got (the trade inquiry) in a few minutes ahead of time,” Zito said. “You get an e-mail receipt back. There was maybe a moment or two there we were like, ‘Did it go through?’ But it was fine. Once we got our receipt we knew we were OK.”
The 36-year-old has some familiarity with the organization beyond Sam Bennett. Gregory Campbell, who won a Stanley Cup alongside a 21-year-old Marchand in 2011 with the Bruins, is the assistant general manager of the Panthers.
Zito noted Campbell’s input was “invaluable” during trade talks.
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