Brad Marchand Embraces ‘Rat’ Culture of Florida Panthers

SUNRISE — On the night Brad Marchand made his debut with the Florida Panthers, the former Bruins captain scooped up a couple rubber rats not to signify his new home, but to give to his kids as a souvenir.

After that debut game against Utah, Marchand admitted he did not know much about the tradition.

Only his new teammates noticed, and now their new victory celebration includes players — most notably Sasha Barkov — shooting the rats that land on the ice at Marchand as they head off into the room.

Marchand has been called a ‘rat’ in the past for his antics on the ice.

With the Panthers, he has embraced what has been part of the team’s identity since the third year of the franchise’s existence when Scott Mellanby one-timed a real, live rodent while sitting in a makeshift locker room at Miami Arena.

The Panthers have brought Marchand into their fold as well.

“I’m just enjoying this whole journey,’’ said Marchand, who scored his first goal with the Panthers since the March 7 trade in a 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings.

“It’s such a unique experience for myself. I’ve been a part of really good teams that have accomplished big things, and some that haven’t.

“Regardless, what you realize is that these opportunities are few and far between. You get to enjoy every day in this league.

“I’m having a lot of fun right now. The guys are awesome, I’m really starting to build some chemistry with everyone and just feeling more comfortable every day. It’s fun to be part of a winning group and to be out there with this group every day.”

The Panthers are having fun with Marchand as well.

Once an adversary during his 16 seasons with the Bruins — he was Boston’s captain the past two — Marchand has fit right in with the easy-going, yet hard-working, Panthers.

In one of his first days with the Panthers, he jokingly referred to Sam Bennett as a ‘scumbag.’

In his postgame scrum Thursday night, Evan Rodrigues threw some of that back at a player he has not only competed against, but skates with during the offseason.

The two are pals, their comments about each other coming with wide grins.

“He’s a rat,” Rodrigues said of Marchand.

Marchand laughed when asked about the comment.

“He’s not wrong,” Marchand said.

erod and barky hitting rats at marchand after a win is becoming a tradition i love it pic.twitter.com/43FPDRNTYZ

— x – bailey (@flacatsandrats) April 11, 2025

The Panthers are a close bunch, with coach Paul Maurice saying he is having the best time of his career just hanging out with this team.

Maurice got his 915th NHL win on Thursday, putting him third all-time in NHL history.

He said he did not expect to have this much fun coaching the Panthers, but their work ethic and closeness on and off the ice has “been a wholly and completely unexpected level of joy that I find in my job because of the men who are around here.’’

ON DECK: GAME No. 80

BUFFALO SABRES at FLORIDA PANTHERS

• When: Saturday, 6 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FTL); WPTV 5/WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
• Streaming: Panthers+; ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Last Season: Panthers Won 3-0
• This Season (Panthers lead 2-1) — At Buffalo: Sabres 5, Panthers 2 (Oct. 12); Panthers 5, Sabres 2 (Oct. 28). At Florida: Panthers 4, Sabres 0 (March 8); Sunday.
• All-time Regular Season Series: Florida leads 59-46-8, 4 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Monday vs. New York Rangers, 7 p.m.

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