Sunrise, Fla. — Bilgito, president and general manager of Florida Panthers Hockey Operations, announced today that the club has agreed to a contract with Forward Brad Merchand for a six-year contract extension.
“Brad, who instantly refilled his lineup from the moment he arrived in South Florida, was an outstanding addition to our team,” Zito said. “He is the definition of a warrior on the ice, a critical leader and a merciless competitor in our group.”
The 37-year-old Marchand, who recovered from injuries after collecting 20 points (10-10-20) in 23 postseason contests, scored four points (2-2-4) in 10 regular season games against Florida, earning second in his postseason career, his second Stanley Cup. His 20 points tied Phil Esposito (20 in 1979) third most by NHL players over 37.
Marchand scored two overtime goals in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs. Round 2, Game 3 vs. Florida for their first victory in that series, and Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final in Edmonton sent back to Florida, who tied the series in one game. He scored six goals in the Stanley Cup final. This included two goal performances in Game 5 and the Oilers became the first player in league history, the first player to score more than five goals in multiple final series with different teams. Five of his six goals are on the road, making Marchand the first NHL player in over 100 years, scoring more than five road goals in the final. In the second round against Toronto, Marchand led all the skaters with eight points (3-5-8) in the 7-game series.
The 5-foot-9, 180-pound native from Halifax in Nova Scotia appeared in 1,100 career NHL games between Florida (2024-25) and Boston (2009-10-2024-25), earning a 980 points (424-556-980), plus 285 ratings and a penalty of 1,115. He scored at least 20 goals in each of his 14 full NHL seasons, creating five 30 goal campaigns. Marchand was named twice for the NHL First Team All-Star (2016-17 and 2020-21) for his second time (2018-19 and 2019-20) and represented the Bruins in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 NHL All-Star Games. He was captain of the Boston Bruins from 2023-24 until 2024-25.
Since his first full NHL season in 2010-11, Marchand has ranked fifth in goal (424). Over the 180 career Stanley Cup playoff games, he registered a rating of 158 points (66-92-158) plus 47 postseason. His 66 playoff goals rank fourth among active skaters behind Alex Ovechkin (72), Sidney Crosby (71) and Evgeny Malkin (67). His 16 postseason games won goals lead all active skaters, with him scoring at least 10 points in each of his last eight postseason runs.
Merchand scored 19 points (11-8-19) in 25 games, when Boston captured the Stanley Cup in 2010-11, with two goals in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final in Vancouver. He also supported the final Stanley Cup appearances from the Bruins in 2012-13 and 2018-19.
On the international stage, Marchand has represented Canada in multiple tournaments, most recently winning a gold medal in the 2025 NHL 4 Nations showdown. He also won gold at the 2016 Hockey World Cup and scored goals in tournaments against Team Europe, 2017 and 2016 IIHF World Championships, and 2008 and 2007 IIHF U20 World Junior Championships.
Marchand was also initially selected by the Bruins in the third round of the 2006 NHL Draft (71st overall).
The Florida Panthers are the 2024 and 2025 Stanley Cup Champions! Fans interested in season ticket membership for the 2025-26 season are encouraged to join the waitlist by clicking here, visiting floridapanthers.com/tickets or calling Puckline (954.835.puck).
