Florida Panthers
After a Week with his Family, Brad Marchand Rejoins New Family. And Delivers
SUNRISE — The Florida Panthers felt for Brad Marchand and what he was going through when he left the team this past week for what Paul Maurice originally categorized as a death in his “family circle.’’
Saturday, Marchand rejoined his new family.
Everyone was glad to see him.
Being back on the ice seemed to be the best way for Marchand to get back to some sort of normalcy.
Marchand, as we all know now, left the Panthers after the 10-year-old daughter of his longtime friend JP MacCallum died after a battle with cancer.
MacCallum is only a few years older than Marchand, but when he was 12, he and a few buddies from Halifax began training under his watchful eye.
They all became increasingly close, with Marchand saying Saturday morning that they all grew into a special brotherhood.
So, when MacCallum’s young daughter got sick and started battling cancer, it affected all of them.
Last Friday, Selah MacCallum passed away.
She was only 10.
The Panthers knew how much Selah meant to Brad Marchand, so, without any hesitation, they told him to go home.
Come back when you can.
“There really was not a decision for us,’’ Maurice said. “We felt for him, we knew he was having a tough week. That’s a tough week. He needed to be there.”
Marchand flew back home to Halifax to be with the family and support them any way he could, including stepping behind the bench Wednesday night to fill in for his pal who happens to coach the junior team.
Even though Marchand is not certified to coach junior hockey — one would think a 16-year NHL veteran who has won the Stanley Cup twice and has represented Team Canada on the world stage would be good to go — he had to get clearance from Hockey Canada to do so.
And that permission was, of course, granted.
Regardless, Marchand did whatever he could to make sure the family he loves so much was taken care of.
“I am very grateful for the way the Panthers handled the situation,” Marchand said. “I called Paul and Bill, and they just said ‘go home, come back when you are ready.’ Not every team, or company, would do that. I am very appreciative to them for allowing me to be with the family and our friends. It just speaks volumes to them as people and to this organization.’’
The Panthers missed him while he was gone, sure, but they knew how much he was grieving and allowing Marchand to go back to his hometown to reunite with his true inner circle is what he needed.
Coming back to his new inner circle did him some good as well.
Marchand rejoined the Panthers on Saturday morning after Maurice said he had not skated in a week and helped drive Florida’s 4-3 shootout win over the Dallas Stars.
Not only did he score on a breakaway early in the second to give the Panthers the initial lead, but he was the only player to score in what — thanks to him — was a three-round shootout.
The Panthers had some standout performances on Saturday night from Sam Reinhart getting his 300th NHL goal, to Sergei Bobrovsky’s overtime heroics, to Sam Bennett’s goal down low.
But there was no player who deserved the First Star of the Game more than Marchand.
He certainly came to play on Saturday.
“That’s a tough week he went through,” Maurice said. “He hit the ice this morning for the first time in a week and he is something to be able to play the way he did. He is just so impactful every game, he scored the first one, then the game-winner for us. Special guy.”
Indeed.
Marchand got sprung on a breakaway off some slick passing from Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen before beating Casey DeSmith for a 1-0 lead.
After scoring, Marchand looked to the sky as he pointed upward.
“That was definitely on my mind,” Marchand said. “There are some incredible moments in life you just have to enjoy, not take too seriously and just kind of be in the moment. I wasn’t nervous or anything being out there. It was more of a great opportunity to honor Selah. I knew all the guys were watching back home. I know she’s watching from up above. I knew she was with me on that one.’’
Tied at 3 going into overtime, the Panthers pulled out a shootout win when Marchand scored in Round 3 and Bobrovsky stopped Mikko Rantanen.
The game-opening goal and the winner all scored by Marchand.
What a night.
“It means a lot, emotionally, for everyone in Selah’s life,” Marchand said. “She loved hockey more than anything, got so much joy out of it as we all do.
“We play because we love it. We have a lot of fun doing it. These are memories, when you have tough times, you can look back on and have a little light in a dark moment, put a smile on all of our faces.’’
ON DECK: GAME No. 13
FLORIDA PANTHERS at ANAHEIM DUCKS
- When: Tuesday, 10 p.m.
- Where: Honda Center, Anaheim
- Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FTL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (Naples/FTM)
- Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN
- Radio: WQAM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
- Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
- This Season (Ducks Lead 1-0) — At Anaheim: Tuesday. At Florida: Anaheim 3, Panthers 2 SO (Oct. 28)
- Last Season: Panthers won 2-0
- All-time Regular Season Series: Florida leads 23-16-2, 3 ties
- Up Next for the Panthers: Thursday at Los Angeles Kings, 10 (ESPN+)
