BOSTON — Villains are not supposed to tear up.
But as we came to learn over the last decade-and-a-half, Brad Marchand has always played with — and been full of — a myriad of emotions.
It was hardly surprising that Marchand received long and heartfelt ovations from a fanbase that clearly still loves him when he returned to TD Garden for the first time Tuesday night face his long-time employers, the Boston Bruins. Nor was it stupefying that he choked up when a video tribute played on the Jumbrotron halfway through the opening period, since it detailed many of the career highlights that will one day land him both in the Hockey Hall of Fame and have his No. 63 hanging in the Garden rafters.
When it was over and ‘Welcome Back Marchy’, next to a photo of him raising the Stanley Cup in 2011 was shown, the camera panned to a clearly broken up Marchand standing on the ice in front of his own bench as the fans roared and players from both Boston and Florida tapped their sticks in acknowledgement.
He touched his heart in a show of thanks, raised his stick for similar effect, then his gloved left hand … all while trying to keep the tears from running down his 37-year-old face. Even back on the bench, he was trying to get ahold of his feelings.
The ovation started up again a few seconds later when the camera panned back to him, and he was still clearly processing the emotions of the moment. The ensuing ‘MAR-SHEE! MAR-SHEE!’ chants when play resumed likely didn’t help.
It was a clear testament to how much Marchand — despite now being a member of the hated Panthers, having helped them win their second straight Stanley Cup last June after being traded to Florida in March, then subsequently signing a new 6-year deal in the offseason — meant, and will apparently always mean, to the Boston fandom.
That love was, and continues to be, a two-way street.
“I always loved playing here, putting the jersey on and wearing my heart on my sleeve,” Marchand said after the game, in which his Panthers downed the Bruins, 4-3, sending the locals to their fifth straight loss. “This is a hard working city, and people appreciate that. I love the fans here; they’re special.”
Finishing the evening with two assists, a minor penalty for hooking, and being awarded the game’s No. 1 star, Marchand spoke for more than 13 minutes to the dozens of reporters who gathered around him in the Florida locker room postgame. He opined on a wide range of topics, from his appreciation for the tribute the Bruins gave him and the memories it conjured up to moving on with his new squad, realizing it’s part of the business of hockey.
He confessed he was trying not to cry, but when his children (daughters Sawyer and Rue and stepson Sloane) were shown on video, it “hit him like a ton of bricks.”
He recalled a time when he was 19 and having dinner with Bruins legend Ray Bourque, who told him to always embrace and be thankful of the fans. He recounted how the Bruins denizens “wanted to win as much or more than we did”. He enjoyed the almost four days that he and his teammates got to spend in Boston and tried to focus on anything other than his return to the Garden leading up to it.
Marchand admitted one thing he did not want to do was disrespect his current team; that he’s “proud and blessed” to be with the Panthers, the new teammates who have embrached him, and plans on making the most of this new chapter in his life. At the same time, he acknowledges that he’s only been in south Florida for seven months and spent the prior 15 years in Boston, and feels like he’ll always be a part of the Bruins when his post-playing days arrive.
“If I’m being completely honest, absolutely,” he admitted.
It took just 61 seconds for ol’ No. 63 to leave his mark Tuesday night. Lined up for the opening draw at right wing, Marchand:
• Jumped on the faceoff win by teammate Anton Lundell in the offensive zone and quickly put a clean backhand on Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman five seconds in;
• Was knocked to the ice by a player he never shared a Black-and-Gold sweater with, Tanner Jeannot, earning Florida a power play at the 33-second mark and a few boos towards Jeannot;
• Took a whack in the back of the helmet from Swayman as he buzzed by his net during the man advantage;
• Attacked the net front with ferocity on a loose puck and wound up assisting on Panther Mackie Samoskevich’s man-up tally just 1:01 in, drawing far more cheers than any visiting player should.
Marchand, of course, wore an enemy sweater at TD Garden this past February as a member of Team Canada in the gold medal game of the 4 Nations Face-Off against Team USA. But this was the first time in a regular season NHL game that he wasn’t coming out of the home locker room, onto the ice with the crested B on his chest, flipping pucks into the stands and being the last one to leave the ice at the conclusion of warmups.
He’s now playing for the two-time defending champions in the Sunshine State, not being asked to carry his team as a first line winger but rather a valuable-yet-complimentary piece, even one besieged by injuries to stars Matthew Tkachuk and captain Alexsander Barkov.
Marchand is in a better place, especially at this stage of his career. He’s one of the extremely rare former Boston athletes that the local fandom is fine with that being the case.
Phil Stacey, the Executive Sports Editor of The Salem News, covers the Boston Bruins for CNHI Sports Boston. Contact him at pstacey@salemnews.com and follow him on X @philstacey_SN