“I would have thought he was joking”: Florida Panthers' coach Paul Maurice reveals Brad Marchand trade almost didn’t happen

Brad Marchand is the surprise hero of the Florida Panthers' playoff push, but his coming to South Florida was close to being as much of a shock to the team as it was to the fans. Head coach Paul Maurice says Brad Marchand's trade from Boston was finalized so quickly, it almost didn't happen at all.

Now, with the 37-year-old winger scoring 20 playoff points in 22 games and leading the Panthers to a 3–2 Stanley Cup Final advantage, Maurice is grateful—but still somewhat surprised—about how it all transpired.

Coach Paul Maurice remembers deadline-day shock that brought Brad Marchand to Florida Panthers' Stanley Cup bid

Addressing the media through Zoom on Sunday, Paul Maurice spoke about how Florida was able to acquire Brad Marchand mere minutes before the March trade deadline. With the team finishing what they believed was a tranquil deadline day, General Manager Bill Zito swam into Maurice's office with a name that left the room in shock. “I’m not sure I have that much more knowledge. I was leaving, as a matter of fact. There was a half hour before the end of the trade deadline, and I was going in to say, ‘Good job, fellas, and we’ll see you tomorrow’," Brad Marchand said.

The coach conceded he believed it was a joke. “And Bill came out and said, What about Brad Marchand? If he had asked that a year and a half ago, I would have thought he was joking. And then he’s just been able to find these players that we just didn’t think were possible," Paul Maurice remembered.

But this time it was for real, and the reaction of the Panthers' front office was immediate and unanimous. “So when he fired that out, everybody just kind of, I think there was a bit of a pause…Everybody nodded. And that’s it,” he said. Brad Marchand's purchase was not a strategy years in the making. It was a daring, impulsive action, and it has since reaped gigantic rewards for Florida. Marchand's playoff career with the Panthers has been nothing less than legendary.

He is the oldest NHL player in history to record five goals in multiple Stanley Cup Final games and the first player to have a short-handed and overtime goal in one playoff game.

What's next for Brad Marchand?

With unrestricted free agency staring him in the face as soon as the season ends, Marchand's fate remains unclear. But wherever he signs next, his presence in Florida is already indelible.Also read: “2006, The rules changed” — The secret behind Brad Marchand’s playoff success, as per HC Paul MauriceWherever he ends up next season, one thing is certain: Brad Marchand's late-career resurgence is one of the defining narratives of this playoffs.