Panthers will send first-round pick to Bruins to complete Marchand trade originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Bruins did not qualify for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but they did get a “win” Tuesday when the Eastern Conference Final between the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes started.
That’s because the Brad Marchand trade between the Bruins and Panthers is now complete, and the outcome is in Boston’s favor.
The B’s dealt Marchand to the Panthers at the NHL trade deadline in March and got a conditional 2027 second-round draft pick in return. That pick had the potential to upgade to a first-rounder.
The conditions of the pick were the Panthers winning at least two rounds in the playoffs and Marchand playing in at least 50 percent of their total postseason games. Marchand appeared in his 13th playoff game for the Panthers in Game 1 of the conference final, and since Florida can only play a maximum of 26 games this spring, that condition of the trade is now satisfied.
The Bruins will now get a first-round pick from the Panthers in 2027 or 2028.
Here are the full parameters of the pick, per PuckPedia:
“Becomes 2027 1st if FLA wins 2 rounds & Marchand plays 50% of playoff games. If pick converts to 2027 1st, and either Florida’s 2027 1st transfers to Chicago (Seth Jones trade) or pick is top 10, then pick becomes 2028 1st.”
If the pick ends up conveying in 2027, the Bruins would have five first-round picks over the next three drafts. It’s been a long time since they owned so much draft capital.
The dilemma for the Bruins now becomes how many of these early-round picks will they keep. Should they package some of them and try to trade for an established star to accelerate their re-tool? Or does it make more sense to draft the best players available and restock a prospect pool that ranks among the league’s worst?
There are pros and cons to both approaches. The right path probably lies somewhere in the middle.
But the good news for the Bruins is they have options on how to right the ship. Now it’s up to general manager Don Sweeney to make the correct moves.