Remember the outrage among Boston Bruins fans after the shocking trade of their captain, Brad Marchand? How did the public view the situation? Numerous fans expressed their disbelief, stating, “Trades a Hall of Famer that’s still capable of 30+ goals for a cond. second rounder??? Sweeney sabotaged.” All eyes were on the Bruins’ general manager, Don Sweeney, and the fans’ feelings were certainly feeling all types of ways. Do you recall the details of Marchand’s contract? In 2019, he inked an eight-year contract worth $49 million, featuring an average annual value of $6.125 million.

In a contrasting narrative, hockey insider Pierre LeBrun sheds light on the concluding year of Marchand’s contract. He notes, “Little tid bit on Brad Marchand’s contract, which was front-loaded when signed back in 2016: while the AAV is $6.125M, his actual cash this season was $4M, and $3M of that was paid already in a signing bonus. Which left $1M in salary this year. With 50% retention by Bruins, my math isn’t great but I think Panthers in reality paying Marchand about $125k for rest of season in real money.”

The mathematics? Despite the salary cap being set at $6.125 million, Marchand was poised to receive a mere $4 million. Nonetheless, out of that total, $3 million has already been allocated to the signing bonus, leaving him with a mere $1 million. The remaining sum has been allocated for further processing, with the Bruins retaining half of his salary. According to the analysis from the hockey insider, Marchand is set to receive only $125k by the end of the season. Now, that’s a very startling NHL reality.

However, has Sweeney provided any comments regarding this trade? Clearly, the general manager remarked, “Just had a gap. Deep down, we had been talking really from day two, I think, of free agency in terms of what his intentions were and where we were at. And we always had a bit of a term gap that took us a while and felt that we had been able to bridge that.”

Sweeney indicated that discussions with Marchand began when the forward entered the final year of his NHL contract with the Bruins. Nonetheless, due to a multitude of factors involving both the player and the team, Sweeney faced a difficult decision and ultimately decided to part ways with him. Is there a possibility for Marchand to make a comeback with the Bruins?

Bruins fans’ chances to see Brad Marchand back

At present, Brad Marchand is navigating the final year of his eight-year, $49 million contract. Even with his move to the Panthers, there remains no signed contract outlining his hockey future.

Recently, Ty Anderson on X presented an intriguing viewpoint on this trade, stating, “An incredibly weird way for this to end. Makes more sense why Sweeney told me ‘that’s a better question for Brad and his emotions’ when I asked if the door was shut shut between the sides re: renegotiating in summer.” Numerous reports indicate that there was confusion surrounding the trade executed by Sweeney.

According to the GM, there is a chance that Marchand could make a return. It seems that, given the lack of developments from the Panthers’ end, Marchand still has the option to return to the Bruins. In what way? If a contract isn’t finalized by the season’s conclusion, the Bruins may find themselves in a position to re-sign their former captain. Only time will reveal Marchand’s performance with the Panthers and his aspirations for his hockey career.