The Florida Panthers are two wins away from their second consecutive Stanley Cup. One of the biggest differences from last year to this year has been Brad Marchand, who came over at the trade deadline. The former Bruins captain is going to hit NHL free agency on July 1 and should have plenty of suitors. The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun theorized that Marchand could join the Toronto Maple Leafs in free agency after a dominant postseason.
“…I do believe the Toronto Maple Leafs will be among the possibilities for Marchand. I mean, he mentioned during the second-round series with Toronto that he grew up a Leafs fan. But to be clear, there are multiple teams in play for Marchand if and when he hits the market.”
LeBrun references Marchand’s press conference after the Panthers’ 6-1 win in Game 7 against the Leafs. He spoke about how he grew up a Toronto fan and believes the pressure from the fanbase causes some of the poor playoff performances. The Maple Leafs will have cap space, with Mitch Marner potentially leaving the team in free agency.
For years, Marchand has been a thorn in Toronto’s side. He has been on the team that eliminated the Maple Leafs five different times in his career. That includes this year, when he dropped three points in Game 7. With Marner likely leaving, the Maple Leafs need some scoring. Marchand can provide that, while giving them a physical edge to help in the postseason.
But LeBrun says there is no guarantee that Marchand leaves Florida. “The door isn’t closed on staying with the Florida Panthers, but with pending unrestricted free agent and Conn Smythe contender Sam Bennett a top priority for the Panthers and Aaron Ekblad also a pending UFA, it’s probably most likely Marchand is going to market where total dollars will be the top priority moreso than the actual average annual value. I think he’s going to get three or four years and easily north of $8 million a year.”
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