Just days after veteran defenseman Aaron Ekblad spoke about his future with the Florida Panthers, veteran forward and pending unrestricted free agent Brad Marchand has also addressed his future with the team.
Per ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski, Marchand will consider re-signing with the Panthers, but the veteran of 1,100 career games is currently focused solely on the Stanley Cup Final.
“Yeah, I’ve thought about it. But we’ll deal with that in the future,” Marchand said.
In 10 regular season games with the Panthers after being acquired from Boston at the trade deadline, Marchand put up two goals and four points. However, Marchand was also shaking off some rust after sustaining an upper-body injury just a week before the trade. Marchand has hit his stride in the playoffs, recording 17 points in 19 games, highlighted by his overtime winner in Game 2.
While Marchand has appeared to be a perfect fit in head coach Paul Maurice’s system, the team has big decisions to make with their pending free agents. With a projected $19 million in cap space (per PuckPedia), the Panthers need to be strategic with where they allocate those funds, as Marchand, Ekblad, Sam Bennett, and Tomas Nosek all set for free agency. While those four carried a combined cap hit of just under $19 million last season, each is expected to command a similar or higher salary on their next contracts. Marchand’s expiring deal came with a $6.125MM AAV.
Despite his age (37), Marchand is expected to draw significant attention on the open market, especially after proving he can still deliver under the bright lights of the playoffs. Marchand, however, did acknowledge that Florida’s chances of retaining him are helped by the fact that it’s one of six U.S.-based teams that come with no income tax.
“There are teams where that absolutely matters. It doesn’t matter for every player, but when you’re dealing with guys that have a choice between multiple teams, it absolutely plays a part. If you have two teams that are offering the same contract, you’re going to pick the team with less tax,” he said.
Although Marchand and Bruins GM Don Sweeney engaged in negotiations and were publicly optimistic about reaching an extension, the two sides ultimately failed to come to terms. That said, following the trade, Marchand noted he wouldn’t close the door on a potential reunion with the Bruins.