Marchand practices with Panthers for 1st time -- in Boston

BOSTON -- The sight was both familiar and foreign. Brad Marchand took to the ice at TD Garden on Tuesday morning, as he has on so many game days, for so many seasons.

But instead of donning a black-and-gold Boston Bruins jersey -- or even a fourth-line merlot jersey -- Marchand was wearing a white sweater, emblazoned with “Property of Florida” surrounding a Florida Panthers logo.

It was a jarring sight. Even, seemingly, to Marchand.

“That was the first time I’ve put the jersey on,” he said before the Panthers' 3-2 loss to the Bruins. “First time I got to go on the ice with the guys. … Still felt weird and odd being out there, understanding new drills and the way guys are out there. That’s a big part of it.

“You get into a routine with guys and even guys that aren’t on your line, you learn to play with because of the way you practice with them. You learn their tendencies. Just trying to figure that all out again and so a different dynamic on the ice. But it was great to get out there with them and start that process.”

Marchand had gotten a taste of walking into TD Garden as a member of the visiting team last month while playing for Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off, dressing in the visitor’s room and sitting on the opposing bench.

This wasn’t that, though. This felt final, even if Marchand has not entirely closed the door to a return to the team with which he spent the first 16 seasons of his NHL career.

“It wasn’t as uncomfortable as I was walking in that day,” Marchand said, of the 4 Nations. “But definitely still a different feeling.”

It will still be a while before Marchand actually takes the ice for the Panthers in a game, but this was a first step into a new reality for the former Bruins captain. Panthers coach Paul Maurice said the anticipation is Marchand will return from the upper-body injury he sustained March 1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins towards the end of the regular season, referring to Tuesday as “the positive part for legs and conditioning and all those other things.”

Marchand had 47 points (21 goals, 26 assists) in 61 games for Boston this season. Five of his goals were game-winners.

“They kind of said three to four to six weeks originally,” Marchand said. “It’s one of those things that it gets to a point where it’s healed, then it’s pain management. I’m not really sure. I know I definitely couldn’t play right now, so just kind of work through it day to day.”

On Tuesday, that meant simply taking the ice for the morning skate.

“I felt OK,” he said. “Definitely still a little bit that I’ve got to get through here. I wasn’t sure if I was even going to skate with the team today; just thought I’d go on a little bit before and try to shoot. It felt OK, so I figured I’d stay out there.”

It was a rocky first step, though.

“It’s not good when you step on a puck first rep and crash into the boards,” he said, with a chuckle. “It happened. It was great to be out there.”

It has been a lot over the past few days for Marchand, whether in terms of meeting teammates, doing rehab, figuring out his new living situation, and getting his family set up, something which has given him newfound empathy for players who have had to move season after season, year after year.

“You don’t realize how fortunate you are, sometimes,” he said.

Marchand is coming to the end of an eight-year contract with a $6.125 million salary cap hit. He can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, which was why the Bruins opted to trade him prior to the NHL Trade Deadline on Friday to the Panthers for a conditional second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft that would become a first-round selection in 2027 or 2028 should Florida win two rounds in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season and Marchand play in 50 percent of those postseason games.

In talking about how his kids will handle the change -- his youngest two are 7 and 3 -- Marchand mentioned the biggest differences will come next season, alluding to the unlikeliness of a reunion with Boston.

He did not close the door, though, remaining very complimentary about Bruins management and their will to win. As he put it, “They’re doing what’s right for the guys in the room. They can’t choose one guy over the 20 guys, and frankly, the millions of people that support the team.”

He choked up.

“My love for the city and the will to want to be here has never changed,” Marchand said. “I don’t think it will ever change. It’s just whether it can have a meeting of the minds and come together, but to be seen.”

For now, Marchand said with the potential this Panthers team has, with the chance to win the Stanley Cup, something he’s done once in his career, back in 2011 with the Bruins, he is focusing on each day, each moment.

It was something he knows got lost a little in 2022-23, when he and the Bruins set records for the most wins (65) and points (135) in the regular season but lost to the Panthers in the Eastern Conference First Round in seven games.

The memory still seems to sting.

But it’s what’s keeping him going as he takes on this new challenge, in this new sweater, this new team.

“When you have an opportunity like this in front of you, you can’t waste a day,” he said. “I learned that the hard way a couple years ago when we had the best season ever and we just thought we were going to be in the Finals. You waste a day, you start looking ahead, you start worrying about things that are not in your immediate future, it can pull you away from what you need to do to accomplish the goal here now.

“I’m not going to think about [signing this summer]. I’m not going to worry about it until the time comes. It’s not going to change anything in the moment or anything that’s happened. I’m extremely excited to be part of this group. After the run we had a couple of years ago, I never thought I’d see a team like that again or be part of a team like that again, [but] I am. We’re on a team built very similar, and I’m not going to squander that opportunity again.”