George Richards, FHN Publisher
FORT LAUDERDALE — Brad Marchand was shut down by the Florida Panthers after the NHL Trade Deadline due to lingering issues with past hip, groin, and sports hernia surgery.
Although Paul Maurice said a few weeks back that Marchand would not need surgery, he did caution that rehabilitation would not be enough. The Panthers and Marchand’s medical team hope time off and treatment will “settle things down,’’ and he will be able to work through the summer.
That is still the hope.
But on Thursday, Marchand said that surgery is still a possibility and that a decision on which way to proceed will be made sooner than later.
The Panthers wrapped up their season with an 8-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday and will report to training camp in about five months.
“We’re not sure yet. That’s still a potential,” Marchand said at the team’s closeout day at the IcePlex. “It’s something that we’re … it’s a last resort. There’s so much time here that we’re not in a playoff position to where we’re going to try and do everything we can to get around it without having surgery. But, yeah, it’s not off the table.”
Marchand said that he got hurt in December and continued to play through it.
And, he played well.
Marchand went into January with 23 goals and 55 points which led the team.
Later in that month, the Panthers started to rest Marchand up so he could make it to the Winter Olympics and play for Team Canada.
”The Olympics were a big goal that I had and it really had not hurt that bad at that point,’’ said Marchand, who was also held out of games at the Olympics by Team Canada coach Jon Cooper.
“In January, it got worse, but there was a point where it got better and I thought I was past it. Unfortunately it got really bad there at one point. So, we just had to deal with it here to try and find a solution to get better and be really prepared for next year.’’
He returned from Milan and played in six more games — with two goals and four points — before being sat down.
Maurice told FHN earlier that Marchand just couldn’t go anymore.
Marchand ended the season by playing in 52 games with 27 goals and 54 points. That was good for second on the team in goals and fourth in points.
ON DECK: FLORIDA PANTHERS OFFSEASON
- NHL Draft Lottery: May 5; Secaucus, NJ
- NHL Draft: June 26-27; KeyBank Center, Buffalo
- NHL Free Agency: Opens July 1
- Panthers Development Camp: Late June/Early July; IcePlex, Fort Lauderdale
- Panthers Rookie Camp/Tournament: Late August/Early Sept.; Site TBA
- Panthers Training Camp: Early/Mid September; Fort Lauderdale
- 2026-27 NHL Season Opens: Late September; Site, Opponent TBA