9 Early Free-Agent Landing Spots for Brad Marchand
When the NHL's free-agent signing period opens next month, you can be sure Brad Marchand will be one of the top players teams are fighting over, assuming he makes it to the open market.
Not only is the 37-year-old an outstanding two-way player, but he also has pretty much every objective and subjective trait NHL general managers love.
He can still score. He can still defend. He can still play a physical, agitating game.
And as he is showing in the Stanley Cup Final with the Florida Panthers, he is still clutch in big moments.
Even though he will have turned 38 by the time the playoffs roll around, he should still have some productive hockey ahead of him.
So, let's take a look at some potential options and fits for him in free agency.
Florida Panthers
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Let's just make it simple and keep him right where he is, because in a lot of ways Marchand was made to play for this particular Panthers team.
He fits their aggressive, agitating style of play. He has been an outstanding fit in their locker room and lineup since coming over at the trade deadline. And if he wins the Cup, it might be tempting to stay where he is and try to run it back again.
The Panthers do have a couple of other big potential unrestricted free agents who might take priority over him, specifically forward Sam Bennett and defenseman Aaron Ekblad.
However, it's not hard to envision a scenario where Marchand is back in Florida next season, especially if Bennett cashes in on his own playoff success and leaves.
At that point, the Panthers would have a big hole in their forward lineup for a top-six forward who can get under the skin of opponents, and that's a role Marchand knows exactly how to play.
Boston Bruins
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The "trade a pending UFA and then re-sign him in the offseason" plan doesn't always work, because if the two sides were really interested in a reunion, they probably would have already signed a contract before a trade became necessary.
But there are always exceptions to that, and the best way for the Bruins to make up for a somewhat lackluster return on the trade that sent him to Florida at the deadline would be to bring Marchand back so he can finish his career in Boston.
The Bruins only received a 2027 draft pick in exchange for Marchand, a shockingly low return given the nature of the seller's market and how good of a player he still is. But his desire to play in Florida, as well as Boston's willingness to do right by him, certainly lowered their return.
Still, that's not a lot to show for a player who might help a team win a Stanley Cup.
Marchand is one of the best Bruins of this era, but would he be willing to go back to play for a team that may not be a contender this season? That remains to be seen. Especially given the options he is going to have on the open market.
Toronto Maple Leafs
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This would certainly be a plot twist and a sight to see.
After tormenting Toronto in the playoffs for years as a member of the Bruins, imagine if Marchand joined the Maple Leafs in an effort to help them change the lackluster postseason narrative that is still hanging over the franchise.
Toronto needs major changes this offseason following another playoff disappointment, it and could have a need for a top-six forward (or two) if Mitch Marner and John Tavares do not return as unrestricted free agents.
The Maple Leafs could also use somebody with Marchand's postseason track record.
Assuming Marner and/or Tavares leave in free agency, there is going to be salary-cap space for the Maple Leafs to play with. That salary flexibility, as well as the need for a change, should make Toronto an interested team if Marchand is available. It would also probably infuriate Boston fans.
But probably not as much as seeing him join another Atlantic Division foe.
Montreal Canadiens
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The idea of seeing Marchand in a Canadiens sweater is probably sacrilegious to Bruins fans, but you could piece together a pretty good hockey argument for why it would make sense and be a potentially strong match.
Even though Marchand and Montreal fans have not always been particularly fond of each other.
Montreal took a huge step forward during the 2024-25 season and stunned everybody by making the Stanley Cup playoffs. It has an outstanding young core in place and is going to be facing pressure to build on that success.
But if the Canadiens are going to build on that, they cannot just rely on the young core to keep getting better. They need to complement it with more talent and some outside help, and they could use a two-way winger with some nastiness to his game.
Marchand's two-way play, veteran presence and track record of playoff success might play well on a young team that is still learning how to win and trying to establish itself as a contender.
Colorado Avalanche
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This would take some creativity on the part of the Avalanche, because they would need to clear out some salary-cap space. But it would make a lot of sense. Or at least some sense.
For one, Colorado needs some more scoring depth to help out Nathan MacKinnon, especially after trading Mikko Rantanen ahead of this year's trade deadline.
Second, MacKinnon and Marchand are friends and have trained together in the offseason. The opportunity to play alongside each other in the NHL could be intriguing.
And third, the Avalanche have to be facing some pressure to make a deep playoff run after first-round exits in two of the past three seasons. Somebody with Marchand's playoff track record could be intriguing to them.
The biggest obstacle, however, would be the salary cap. Colorado entered the offseason with limited salary-cap flexibility, and it already ate up a lot of it with the re-signing of veteran center Brock Nelson.
There would have to be a trade—potentially a significant trade—to create the salary-cap space necessary to land a free agent like Marchand, but the Avalanche have not been shy recently about making drastic moves to overhaul their roster.
A Rebuilding Team With a Lot of Salary-Cap Space (Chicago, San Jose, Anaheim)
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A 37-year-old Marchand probably doesn't have much interest in joining a bad team that is stuck in the middle of a rebuild.
But he might have some interest in getting the biggest paycheck possible in what will probably be his only time to test his value on the open market.
Teams like the Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks have a desperate need to get better, while all of them are swimming in salary-cap space and could probably outbid almost any team in the league if they were serious about dipping into free agency.
They could also use some credibility in their lineup and somebody who knows how to win. Marchand would provide both.
The only question is whether one of them could offer enough money to make him risk playing for a losing team, or at least a club that is unlikely to compete for a Stanley Cup next season.
Utah Mammoth
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Utah might actually be able to offer Marchand the best of all worlds this offseason.
The Mammoth are somewhere between a full-on rebuild and a bona fide contender, but they also have money to spend (more than $20 million in salary-cap space with only two open roster spots) and a desire to compete right now.
They hung around in the playoff race, have an emerging young core with some rising stars and also own the No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 draft.
There is a lot going on here that is positive, and if a young player like Logan Cooley can take a big step forward next season, that would be a game-changer for the organization.
This team is not far away from making some noise.
In its first season in Utah, management made big changes to the defense by trading for veterans Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino.
This offseason, the forwards should get a similar investment. The Mammoth figure to be players for Mitch Marner, but Marchand would also make a lot of sense in the short term.
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