Although Florida Panthers star forward Brad Marchand may still need surgery, he remains hopeful for both himself and the team heading into the off-season.

At Thursday’s team closeout day at the IcePlex, Marchand spoke about his wish to avoid surgery and the core group that is ready to vie for another championship in 2026-27. Like many of the injury-riddled Panthers regulars, Marchand’s main goal right now is health.

Marchand was placed on Long-Term Injured Reserve (LTIR) on March 17 and shut down for the rest of the season due to lower-body issues, including lingering ailments from past hip/groin surgeries. He started feeling pain in December, and missed sporadic games through March.

Despite playing through the discomfort, he was limited to 52 games, tallying 27 goals and 54 points. He still finished second on the team in goals and fourth in points.

“This is only a lost year if we allow it to be a lost year.”

This is a fantastic answer from Panthers coach Paul Maurice@5ReasonsSports pic.twitter.com/88WRCBAxRX

— Ethan J. Skolnick, 5 Reasons Sports (@EthanJSkolnick) April 16, 2026

Here’s what Marchand had to say the day after the Panthers closed out the regular season with an 8-1 in over Detroit that officially placed them out of the playoffs for the first time since 2019 (the recent six straight years of making the playoffs was a franchise record).

Q: How is the rehab going and Is surgery still a possibility?

A: “We’re not sure yet. That’s still a potential. It’s something that we’re … that’s kinda last resort. There’s so much time here that we’re not in a playoff position to where we’re going to try and do everything we can to get around it without having surgery. But, yeah, it’s not off the table.”

Q: When did you start feeling hurt?

A: I got hurt in December, and then I just kinda kept playing through it. The Olympics was a huge goal that I had and it and it really had not hurt that bad at that point. In January, it got worse, but there was a point where it got better and I thought I was past it. Unfortunately it got really bad there at one point. So, we just had to deal with it here to try and find a solution to get better and be really prepared for next year.

Q: Thoughts on the overall year for the Panthers?

A: “It’s disappointing the way the year the played out, but you definitely learn something about your group every year regardless of how it goes. I love the guys mindset every day. We knew we were fighting an uphill battle based on what the team was going through. I love the way we stuck together as a group and found ways to get better. That’s what makes it so hard to win in this league. You need to be healthy and I just felt like everyhing was going againt us. We still approached it like we were in the playoffs and playing for a Cup and you have to respect that.”

Q: How much is the long off-season going to fuel the team?

A: The East is very good this year, incredibly competitive. It was a battle every night. It shows you how teams are elevated every year. We have to use our situation to our best advantage. We don’t want to miss the playoffs – we should have been a Cup contending team. We have to use the time that we have to be the in the best possible position next year coming into training camp. Make sure we’re healthy. We have to take things in our control and work really hard. You need your team to be healthy, and that’s our job this year is to get healthy during the season. Get back to the way we played last year. We have unbelievable depth in our room and that hasn’t changed. “

Q: Do you feel at your age this was a lost year for you?

A: You realize you’re not going to win every year. You need everything to go right at the right moment to win, and at the end of the day I’d rather miss playoffs than lose in the Finals. If you go that deep and you lose…what’s the difference in losing in the Finals and not making the playoffs? There’s one winner and everyone else is a loser. It gives us more time to prepare for next year, fix the things we need to and prepare for next year. We’ll still be on paper one of the best teams in the league.”

Q: On the whole, do you feel like it was was a good calendar year?

A: There’s a lot of highlights, milestones that I’m proud of and thankful for, like the Cup and the medal in the Olympics. You’re not going to win everything all the time and you learn that quick in this league. The older you get, you don’t take these days for granted regardless of whether you win or you lose. I’m very fortunate to play this job and do what we do and play a game for a living and meet great people and travel to great places and live out a dream. Its unfortunate we didn’t win, but when you look back at the year, it was a hell of a year.”

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