The Summer of Marchand is in Full Swing. Feels Like He’s Staying

Brad Marchand is having a summer to remember — and it really hasn’t even started yet.

Well, OK, Friday was the official first day of summer.

Marchand is off to a wicked good start.

Since winning the Stanley Cup for a second time, this one with the Florida Panthers, Marchand has been making South Florida his personal playground.

Friday, for example, was a busy one for Marchand.

The Panthers spent Thursday night with the Stanley Cup, first taking it to dinner before going clubbing with it at E11even in downtown Miami until Friday morning.

Marchand was spotted crowd surfing with the Cup across the dance floor.

As the evening came to a close, Marchand apparently did not want the fun to stop.

There are numerous videos of Florida captain Sasha Barkov being a forceful, if a little wobbly, voice of reason by pulling Marchand away from the club and into the party bus.

While the Panthers were partying the night away, Marchand’s Instagram (@bradmarch63) was filled with photos of him trolling rival teams by thanking them for players they let get away and help the Panthers become the juggernaut they are.

There were photos of all the Panthers with a tag thanking their previous teams, such as Calgary for trading Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk to the Panthers, and the Hurricanes for putting Gus Forsling on waivers.

Of course, Marchand. But also Barkov with the Kurri throwback 🤌 pic.twitter.com/WOoeoreqbL

— Matt Porter (@mattyports) June 21, 2025

This came a day after Marchand led a ‘Thank You Boston!’ chant from high above the Elbo Room.

Sam Reinhart, whom Marchand included in thanking the Sabres, returned the favor with a ‘Thanks NHLBruins’ post on a picture of the former Bruins captain who was traded to the Panthers on March 7.

Marchand said he felt not only a big part of the Panthers, but South Florida as well.

“It’s been special from a fan base that was not very fond of me, and I wasn’t very fond of them,’’ Marchand said.

“It’s done a full 180 and I feel like they have embraced me and allowed me to be part of this team, this city, and I am very appreciative of it.’’

Brad Marchand, center and bottom second from left, has been enjoying his time with the Florida Panthers — especially since winning the Stanley Cup for a second time. // Photos courtesy @bmarch63 Instagram, @FlaPanthers

There was also a shot of Barkov, Aaron Ekblad, and Anton Lundell thanking Dale Tallon for drafting them.

It was a nice thought, even though Bill Zito drafted Lundell a few weeks after replacing Tallon. Marchand did thank the Blue Jackets for not promoting Zito from associate GM allowing him to move south in 2020.

Columbus was also thanked for Sergei Bobrovsky and Seth Jones.

“We were all sitting at dinner and kind of reminiscing on how we all got to this point,” Marchand said Friday. “We all have our own story about maybe not being the happiest about the situation at the time, kind of how things worked out for certain guys. But we all got here.

“Without all of those ups-and-downs that guys went through … whether they got here by choice, or not by choice by being traded or whatever, it all played a part in this team winning the Cup. …

“We were joking about it, and I like to have some fun, so I just let everyone know how much I appreciated it.’’

With all of the nightclub videos surfacing, there was a lot of doubt that Marchand would make it to the Sunrise Dairy Queen on time for a celebration of his love of the Blizzard.

For one day only, the store sold the ‘Brad Blizzard’ which was made with vanilla soft serve and ‘chocolate chirp’ cookie dough.

Nice.

“It has been an incredible few days, but I think this tops it off,” said Marchand, who cheerfully made some Blizzards, handed out the frozen treats, and worked the drive thru.

“It legit brings me back to my childhood. It’s been an incredible few days, so much love down here in Florida. There’s always been a lot of talk about it not being a hockey city, but it is pretty evident that there’s so much love down here for the game of hockey and it’s pretty incredible to be a part of.”

Later in the day, the Panthers took to the Intracoastal where Marchand continued to rock the DQ shirt — only he posted himself wearing what looked like an Edmonton Oilers sticker.

A closer look, and the word Oilers was replaced by ‘Losers.’

Yeah, dude is living it up.

“We’ve got a lot of big days coming up,” Marchand said. “When you’ve been in the game as long as I have, you want to make every moment last as long as you can. So I’m enjoying the summer. This isn’t going to last just a week, but the next couple of months.”

When it come to more serious matters, like where he is going to play next season, Marchand continues to leave hints that he may not be going anywhere.

“I feel like I’m home,” Marchand said as he was talking with fans per the Miami Herald.

“I am home, aren’t I?”

“I feel like I’m home. I am home, aren’t I?” -Brad Marchand

👀

— Jordan McPherson (@J_McPherson1126) June 20, 2025

Zito has said a few times he thinks he can resign Florida’s top free agents in Bennett, Ekblad, and Marchand.

No one knows how this is going to work itself out due to the Panthers only having $19 million under the cap next season, but stranger things have happened with this team.

What would Marchand say to Zito right now?

“Give me a contract!”

Friday night, Marchand was filmed outside Elbo Room.

As chants of ‘Stay!’ went on, Marchand pulled out Bennett’s line from the night before

“I’m not [xxx] leaving,” Marchand responded, holding up four fingers to potentially indicate a four-year deal with the Panthers.

Regardless, it does not look like Marchand is going to forget this week for a long time.

If he can remember it all, that is.

“These are the best few months I have ever had in my career,’’ Marchand said. “It’s an incredible group down here. I’ve loved every second of it, and hopefully it can continue.’’

2025 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS

FLORIDA PANTHERS

UP NEXT

• 2025 Stanley Cup Championship Parade/Rally: Sunday, Fort Lauderdale Beach; noon
• 2025 NHL Draft: June 27-28, Los Angeles (Panthers have six picks in Rounds 4-7)
• Start of NHL Free Agency: July 1
• Panthers Development Camp, Fort Lauderdale IcePlex: Early July
• Panthers Rookie Camp, Fort Lauderdale IcePlex: Early September
• Prospect Showcase hosted by Tampa Bay Lightning: Early September
• Training Camp: Mid-September
• Exhibition Games: Late September
• Opening Night: Oct 7-9 (opponent, time, date TBA)