Brad Marchand, Florida Panthers: Aftermath of the Sasha Barkov Injury

Brad Marchand, Florida Panthers: Aftermath of the Sasha Barkov Injury

The room obviously has a ton of leaders, guys like yourself. You don’t replace if there’s a room that’s built. It seems like this is that Yeah, you you can’t replace uh Barky. He does so many different things on and off the ice. Um, but one of the things that I was really really impressed about was that when you came in, you didn’t feel like one guy led the way. You felt like everyone was very dialed in um to what they had to do to to buying into the group. They just they they did everything as a unit and that is very special. Um you don’t see that often where a group is is one. you know, you normally have like one or two guys that kind of lead the way and other guys that follow and guys that are kind of coming up and trying to lead and want to lead and then you have a bunch of guys that follow and and that’s complete opposite of this group. Um, you know, when Barky when you see him, he just has an aura about him. The way that he takes care of himself and he prepares and and uh the way he does lead on on the ice um in practice and stuff like that. Um so yeah, it’s going to be hard to play. he’s the best two away player in the game. Um, you know, you’re not going to be able to replace that guy. But yeah, collectively as a group, I mean, you just try to all pick up a little piece of that and and try a little bit harder. Uh, try to fill in where you can. Um, you know, and hopefully as a group, you can kind of come together. And it’s also the adversity is good for the group. You know, obviously you never want to see a guy go down. Um, but we have multiple guys that have gone down in this year and and have created holes and it creates opportunities for other guys. Um, other guys get to play more. They get to step into a role they haven’t had before and other guys get a look that maybe they wouldn’t have had. So, uh, it it’s where opportunities created. You know, 99% of guys, that’s how they get in this league is somebody gets hurt and you get an opportunity and and you got to try to seize the spot. So, um, yeah, that’s how it works. There’s no way this team can do it again way be extra fuel for this group. I don’t think this group needs fuel. We know who we are. Um, you know, we we know what what our goals are and and what we’re looking at doing this year. um you know looking down the road at at at winning the Stanley Cup is the last thing you want to do right now. There’s such a long road that before that and there’s so many different things that you need to overcome and adversity that comes um you know there’s a foundation that needs to be built. Um so you know the headlines can come out all they want about you know what we can what we can’t do nine months from now. Um there’s nine months that we need to deal with before that. You touched on just how many different leaders you guys have in the room and how do you have guys who can’t tell? Have you been part of a team where I think I’ll use the phrase where the leadership is sort of horizontal where it’s like there’s no real even though far across the seed there’s no real tech and work. Have you ever been on a team that’s sort of had that many guys in the room who can Yeah. can’t step up when they I have Yeah, I have been part of team. We’ve had a couple teams in Boston like that. It doesn’t happen often, but every now and again there’s a team where you have a lot older guys, a lot of guys that have been around, a lot of guys that are really um self-focused, self-aware uh about what they need to do to prepare to to be at their best. Um and then you have a team buyin, a complete buy in in the group. And and when you have that, it’s uh you know, you can have guys go down and and still have success because there there’s there’s not one player that you rely on. There’s a group game, a team game that um that’s in place that allows you to to have success. It doesn’t matter who’s in or out. Uh and and you see that um with really good teams are able to find a way to win when when guys go down. You know, obviously it’s unfortunate that we lost um you know, our best player and our best our best leader, but again, that just creates opportunity for someone else to be big. Um someone else to fill into a a hole that maybe they didn’t think they were needed for a while because Barky was there. Uh but it gives an opportunity for other guys to step up and and have a voice and and lead in different ways. And um incredible things can happen in moments like that. you know, guys can shine in uh a way that maybe, you know, people didn’t think was possible. Um, and they just needed that opportunity. So, you know, there’s a lot of a lot of talk about this being a bad situation, and it is, but a lot of good can come from a bad situation and and a lot of really good opportunity and and that’s what we expect from guys in our room is to step up and and be big in big moments. Obviously, like I said, it takes everyone everyone has to step up, but for Lundy moves up a little bit, your depth chart played with him obviously a ton last year and he’s seen these match up teams that take guys off park and put them on your line. You guys obviously a great job there. How exciting to see a young player like London experience, a guy like him kind of step up as a big Yeah, he’s a great example. um you know, he he’s a top two line center on any team in this league and and he’s been kind of stuck in the third hole because of the depth in this group. Um you know, but you talk about opportunity and guys having the opportunity to play more and and have a bigger role. Well, he’s he’s a great example of that. Um you know, he he’s almost a bit like a little a little Barky. He uh very responsible two-way, extremely skilled, uh very good around the net. um you know so he has all the uh attributes to be a a great player in this league and and he can he can handle the minutes he can handle the ice time he can handle the matchups um you know and he showed that on the biggest stage multiple years here so again when when when top guys go down other guys that have maybe held been held back a little bit Samo is going to be another guy that’s going to get a great opportunity with Chucky being down and you know he he’s look he looks unbelievable out there right now and and same with Boi. So, you know, some of these guys that that when you have a really deep team, maybe they’re held back in a position that allows our team to have success, uh, cuz it gives us that depth, but they’re ready and they’re built for more. Um, you know, and these are the opportunities where you get it and and I have no question that these guys are going to succeed. Speaking of opportunity, it’s an opportunity for so many guys, so many different spots, so many guys moving around. One guy came here, Jack Sika, you play with in Boston a bit. He’s hoping to to get back to some regular games. He said he said you texted him after he signed. How excit are you to kind of reunite with him here a little bit and what you saw him as a very young player. Kind of what excites you about his game? Yeah, I’ve known Studs for a while. I I really like Studs. He’s a great kid. Um, and I’ve seen him really kind of grow and mature. Uh, you know, his first year in camp I thought he was going to make the team at 18, 19 years old. He was incredible. his speed and and uh you know just how how um his touch around the net is really impressive and I know he’s had a couple years there. He’s had some injuries and stuff, but he looks great out there right now. He’s flying around um you know and and sometimes those are the guys that you just need that break and these are things that happen that get that. But um you know he he works extremely hard in the gym off the ice. He’s really dedicated right now to doing all the right things and and you know, I haven’t seen him for a couple years, but he’s grown a lot and his maturity and in his game um and his details off the ice, the way he prepares. So, I’ve been impressed watching him um so far in camp and you know, I hope he does well. I hope he succeeds and and and I’d love to see him on this team um just cuz I I have seen him grow from an immature kid and and doing all this uh you know, these silly moves on the ice. um that would bother me and and uh you know now he’s got that hard hard direct game and and he’s shooting pucks and he’s um driving to hard areas. So I I like I like what he’s uh what he’s done. Brad to mention you know similar you have one you and I talked a little bit last year about how similar Matthew Kachchuck you have an emotional feel for the game with those two guys obviously not available to start the season. Do you feel like maybe those are some of the parts of your individual skill set that will be a little bit more amplified at the beginning of the year? Yeah, I think uh I can be one of those vocal guys. Bark’s not overly vocal, but he leads off the ice. Um you know, I I think we have a lot of guys that can help in that regard just by uh you know, their work ethic on on the ice, uh in the gym. um you know things where where Barky really leads the vocal stuff is Chucky’s very very big. So that that’s a big loss there. I think that’s that’s definitely an area I can I can help with. Um I I talk too much at times and and uh you know I’m sure guys are going to get suck sick of me and really looking forward to to Chucky getting back but you know there’s definitely some areas there that I I feel like I can uh you know pick up a little bit of slack and help out. And even with Smitty being gone, he’s another guy that that talked a lot. You know, he uh brought a lot of guys together, created a lot of energy in the room. So, um, you know, that’s another guy that, uh, you know, hasn’t been talked a lot about, um, missing in that area, but he will be a loss as well

Florida Panthers forward Brad Marchand meets the media after training camp practice in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025.

Florida captain Aleksander Sasha Barkov was injured in the first full on-ice practice of training camp on Thursday; Barkov had surgery on his right knee to repair his MCL and ACL and could be out for the entirety of the 2025-26 NHL season.

The Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final on June 17; it was the second straight year the Panthers beat the Oilers for the Cup.

Florida is vying to become the first NHL team to threepeat as Stanley Cup champions since the New York Islanders in the 1980s.

The Panthers Have Done It Again, Repeat as Cup Champs: https://floridahockeynow.com/florida-panthers-repeat-stanley-cup-champions-2025/

How Brad Marchand Joined the Florida Panthers: https://floridahockeynow.com/brad-marchand-joins-florida-panthers-how-it-happened-nhl-trade-bruins/

2024 Stanley Cup Champions Honored at the White House: https://floridahockeynow.com/stanley-cup-champion-florida-panthers-honored-at-white-house/

Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning Bringing Hockey Outdoors – In Florida: https://floridahockeynow.com/nhl-outdoor-hockey-miami-tampa-florida-panthers-lightning/

The Florida Panthers Get Their Rings. They’re Spectacular: https://floridahockeynow.com/florida-panthers-get-stanley-cup-championship-rings-theyre-spectacular/

The Florida Panthers Are Stanley Cup Champions: https://floridahockeynow.com/can-you-believe-it-florida-panthers-are-stanley-cup-champs/

In Game 6, the Panthers led 2-0 in the first off goals from Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk.

Reinhart made it 3-0 with his second of the game before he got his hat trick — and then a fourth goal.

Sam Bennett won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

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Video Courtesy Florida Panthers / Panther Vision