By: Camryn Meece | Follow me on Twitter / X @MeeceCamryn
On September 20, 2023, Brad Marchand became the 27th captain in Boston Bruins history, succeeding Patrice Bergeron after Bergeron retired. After spending 14 seasons with the organization, Marchand had become one of the most recognizable and beloved players to wear the B. Known throughout the league as “The Rat,” Marchand made a career out of getting under his opponents’ skin. He was just as capable of finding the back of the net as he was starting a confrontation, making him a player opposing fans loved to hate, and Bruins fans loved to have on their side.
Brad Marchand grew up in Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia, about 30 miles from Windsor, a town known as the “birthplace of hockey.” He started hitting the ice at just two years old, with his father waking the family before dawn to get extra time at the rink. Even at a young age, Marchand’s competitive streak showed, but despite how much of his childhood revolved around hockey, he wasn’t sure he would make it to the National Hockey League (NHL). He later recalled that some of his friends were better players and were getting more attention from junior teams. At one point, he thought hockey might help him get into prep school and college, rather than become his career.
“I was never the best kid on my team—anyone will tell you that. My buddies were better players. As we got older, they were getting all the attention from the junior teams.”
– Brad Marchand, 2018
At 16, Marchand began his junior career with the Moncton Wildcats after being selected 24th overall in the 2004 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) draft. He spent two seasons with the team, improving from nine goals in his first season to 29 in his second. In 2006, he helped Moncton win the QMJHL championship and advance to the Memorial Cup final. That June, the Boston Bruins drafted Marchand 71st overall in the third round of the NHL Draft. He continued playing junior hockey and was later traded from Moncton to the Val-d’Or Foreurs. There, he scored 33 goals and recorded 80 points during the 2006-07 regular season before leading the QMJHL in playoff scoring with 40 points in 20 games.
After his strong season with Val-d’Or, Marchand returned to Nova Scotia in 2007-08 to play for the Halifax Mooseheads, finishing his junior career closer to home. The following season, he joined the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL), where he recorded 59 points in 79 games and finished second among league rookies in scoring. His performance in Providence helped put him in position to earn a call-up to Boston.
On October 21, 2009, at 21, Marchand made his NHL debut against the Nashville Predators. He recorded his first NHL point that night, assisting on Michael Ryder’s goal in a 3–2 Bruins win. He played 20 games for Boston during the 2009–10 season, spent time with Providence, and became a regular in the Bruins’ lineup the following season. On November 3, 2010, Marchand scored his first NHL goal against Buffalo, finding the back of the net on a shorthanded breakaway.
The 2010-11 season was a big one for Marchand. In his first full NHL season, he scored 21 goals and recorded 41 points during the regular season. He carried that production into the playoffs, scoring 11 goals in 25 games as Boston advanced to the Stanley Cup Final against the Vancouver Canucks.
Marchand saved some of his best performances for the Stanley Cup Final. He scored five goals in the seven-game series, including two in Game 7 on June 15, 2011. Those five goals tied the NHL record for most goals by a rookie in a Stanley Cup Final, a mark that had stood since Roy Conacher scored five for Boston in 1939. Marchand helped Boston close out the series with a 4-0 Game 7 win, giving the Bruins their first Stanley Cup in 39 years.
Following Boston’s 2011 Stanley Cup win, Marchand continued to improve offensively. In 2011-12, he scored 28 goals and recorded 55 points, setting new career highs in both categories. At the same time, he was becoming known for his antics on the ice. In January 2012, he received a five-game suspension for hitting Vancouver Canucks defenseman Sami Salo. His willingness to get under opponents’ skin became a regular part of his game, often drawing as much attention as his scoring.
Despite the controversy, Marchand’s production kept climbing. He scored 37 goals and recorded 61 points in 2015-16 before setting new career highs the following season with 39 goals and 85 points. He was becoming one of Boston’s most important offensive players, but his antics remained a big part of his reputation. During the 2018 playoffs, Marchand made headlines when he licked Toronto Maple Leafs forward Leo Komarov during their first-round series. He did it again a few weeks later, licking Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Callahan during the second round. These incidents became two of the most-talked-about examples of why he is the rat.
As Marchand’s career progressed, his role in Boston began to change. In 2018, he started wearing an alternate captain’s “A” on his jersey, a responsibility he took on full-time in January 2021 when Patrice Bergeron became captain after Zdeno Chara left. After years of playing alongside Bergeron and Chara, Marchand had learned from two of the team’s most respected leaders.
When Bergeron retired in 2023, Marchand became the next captain. After years with the Bruins and several seasons as an alternate captain, he had already spent plenty of time in a leadership role. On September 20, 2023, the Bruins officially named him the franchise’s 27th captain.
Marchand’s first season as captain ended with a disappointing first-round exit, as Boston lost to the Florida Panthers in seven games. The following season was even harder for the Bruins, who struggled to stay in the Eastern Conference playoff race before falling out of contention. As the trade deadline approached, questions about Marchand’s future in Boston grew, especially as the two sides failed to reach an agreement on a contract extension.
On March 7, 2025, just minutes after the 3 p.m. NHL trade deadline, the Bruins traded Marchand to the Florida Panthers. After 16 seasons in Boston, Marchand was leaving the only NHL organization he had ever known. The move was difficult for Bruins fans, who had watched him develop from a young winger into one of the franchise’s most recognizable players and, eventually, its captain. In Florida, he joined the defending Stanley Cup champions, who had eliminated Boston from the playoffs in each of the previous two seasons. When he returned to TD Garden later that year as a Panther, Bruins fans welcomed him back with a standing ovation that lasted nearly three minutes.
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