Bruins closer to getting better pick from Panthers due to Marchand trade originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Florida Panthers are into the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and Brad Marchand is one of the main reasons why.
That might be a weird sentence for Boston Bruins fans to read, but it’s true.
The Panthers eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 of the first round on Wednesday night with a 6-3 win at Amalie Arena.
Marchand picked up two assists in the victory, giving him four points (four assists) for the series. Florida outscored Tampa Bay 6-2 during Marchand’s 5-on-5 ice time through five games.
4-POINT NIGHT FOR LUOSTY‼️ pic.twitter.com/t7IZiwHccp
— x – Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) May 1, 2025
Marchand has made a seamless transition to the Panthers lineup since the Bruins sent him to Florida just before the March 7 NHL trade deadline.
He’s giving the Panthers scoring depth, playmaking, toughness, penalty killing and even more playoff experience. Marchand is also teaming up with Matthew Tkachuk to chirp opposing players, which is quite a sight.
Matthew Tkachuk, Brad Marchand, and Sam Bennett were all chirping the Lightning bench at the end of Game 2.
Absolute nightmare fuel for the rest of the NHL 😳 pic.twitter.com/S7ZQLAC1Pr
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 25, 2025
The rivalry between the Panthers and Bruins is still a heated one, but Florida’s success this spring does impact Boston in a meaningful way.
When the Bruins traded Marchand to the Panthers, they got a conditional 2027 second-round pick in return. If the Panthers reach the Eastern Conference Final and Marchand plays in at least 50 percent of their playoff games, that second-rounder owed to Boston would become a 2027 first-round pick. The Boston Herald’s Steve Conroy has reported that 2027 first-rounder would be top-10 protected, so if the pick does fall in the top 10, it would convey as an unprotected 2028 first-round pick.
In case you were wondering, if the Panthers win the next round and Marchand has played 50% of the playoff games, the B’s get the 2027 first rounder, unless it’s a top 10 pick. If so, it slides to 2028
— steve conroy (@conroyherald) May 1, 2025
Right now, the chances of the Panthers reaching the conference final and Marchand playing in half (or more) of the games look pretty good. The Panthers will be favored in their Round 2 series, whether it’s against the Toronto Maple Leafs or Ottawa Senators. That means there’s a good chance of Boston landing either a 2027 or 2028 first-round pick from Florida (likely the former).
The Panthers are the best team left in the playoffs thanks to their combination of high-end skill, toughness, experience and quality goaltending. Injuries might be the only factor that could derail this team.