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Brad Marchand has spent more than 15 years cementing himself as one of the biggest pests in the NHL. The longtime Bruin won his second Stanley Cup with the Panthers after being traded earlier this season, and he went out of his way to troll other NHL teams who parted ways with players who helped Florida win its second consecutive championship.
There are plenty of professional athletes who are reviled by opposing fans who view them as a villain but begrudgingly admit they’d love to have them on their team.
That definitely includes Brad Marchand, the so-called “Rat King” who’s managed to infuriate plenty of people with his antics on the ice but who is widely viewed as an incredibly likeable guy off of it and is an objectively talented player virtually every NHL team and fanbase would be more than happy to have on their side.
Marchand made his NHL debut with the Bruins in 2010 and won his first Stanley Cup when Boston beat Vancouver in 2011 (both he and Patrice Bergeron scored two goals in the 4-0 Game 7 victory that sealed the deal).
He spent the entirety of his career rocking black and gold before the Bruins decided to go into Rebuild Mode ahead of the trade deadline this year and made the fairly surprising decision to ship their captain off to the Panthers, who certainly reaped the benefits of that addition.
Marchand had 20 points during the Stanley Cup playoffs while contributing ten goals and ten assists to the cause, and he got to raise Lord Stanley’s trophy for the second time after Florida topped Edmonton in Game 6 on Tuesday night.
The Panthers have spent the past few days taking a victory lap ahead of the parade that will make its way through Fort Lauderdale this weekend, and on Thursday, Marchand used a celebratory dinner to troll the rest of the NHL by tagging the teams who declined to retain every member of the current Panthers squad that played somewhere else before linking up with the franchise.
Brad Marchand is currently using his IG to thank rival NHL teams for the players they allowed to join the Florida Panthers. The championship celebrations roll on. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/miyX0H45ln
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) June 20, 2025
Some of his teammates also got in on the action by honoring the Bruins for their contribution.
Barkov, Reinhart, Tkachuk, Mikkola and others now returning the favor for Marchand 😂 pic.twitter.com/5UKZlSam7z
— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) June 20, 2025
Well played.