There was a time, not so very long ago, that the Panthers were so worried about Brad Marchand’s health that they built protections into their deal with the Bruins in case he couldn’t last three weeks.
Three months later, they signed the 37-year-old for the next six years.
Marchand has long been fond of saying he’d retire when the wheels came off. For $32 million over those six years, the Panthers have firmly tightened his lug nuts for a long haul.
It won’t be fun for the Bruins to watch Marchand playing for a division rival for the rest of his career, but the Panthers may have done the Bruins a favor.
If Marchand made it to free agency, Boston was reportedly going to get involved. If they were serious about renewing their vows with their former captain and willing to wade into the financial waters necessary to do so, they would have been making a mistake.
Obviously, the Bruins wouldn’t have signed him to a six-year deal, but to contend with the Mammoths of Leafs, they’d have had to come with something in the neighborhood of four years with at least an $8 million AAV.
The contract is an acceptable one for the Panthers, but this deal or any close to it would have been extremely ill-advised for the Bruins. It’s unrealistic to think Marchand will still be a viable NHL player at 42. His playing style leaves him too vulnerable to breaking down. And he’s commanding too much for a team that isn’t knocking on the door of Stanley Cup contention.
Bill Zito and the Panthers undoubtedly know this, but they couldn’t pay him his market value per year, so they’ll spread it out for as long as he’s effective and then buy him out to spread the cap hit over more years after he’s done.
When a team is in its championship window, the goal is and should be to keep it open as long as possible. What happens after it closes is tomorrow’s problem. Panthers fans, like anybody else, would trade five straight years in the lottery in the 2030s if it means another parade or two in the near future.
Bruins fans hoping for a reunion had their hopes elevated for a moment when rumors emerged that Boston was one of three franchises expected to reach out to Marchand if he reached free agency, along with Toronto and Utah.
Once the Bruins traded him and several of his core teammates in March, Boston should have recognized the time had come to be out of the Brad Marchand business. Paying Marchand before the deadline would have been one thing.
It might not have been the right move from a rebuilding perspective, but spending a little too much to prevent a franchise icon from ever leaving is at least defensible from a cultural standpoint.
But overpaying to bring him back, especially after he left and won a cup somewhere else, would have been putting sentimentality over winning.
In Florida, Marchand is a valuable third-line wing. The Bruins would need him to drive offense.
The next deal Boston and Marchand strike should be a one-day contract so their former captain can retire a Bruin somewhere down the road.
Until then, they should be spending their money elsewhere.
