Mammoth among teams set to show strong interest in Marchand
Published
The Utah Mammoth, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins will be among the teams with strong interest should forward Brad Marchand hit the open market Tuesday, reports TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger.
Those teams will join the Florida Panthers, who continue to work to retain Marchand after acquiring him at the trade deadline.
Dreger notes the Mammoth have been aggressive so far this off-season, already having landed forward J.J. Peterka in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres.
Dreger delivered a longer update regarding Marchand Sunday on SportsCentre.
“I’ll tell you what people around the National Hockey League think. Because Bill Zito, the general manager of the Florida Panthers, and Wade Arnott, who represents Brad Marchand, neither side is saying a whole lot. Other than that there is ongoing dialogue between the two sides. But what I would tell you is the messaging outside of Florida is the expectation that Marchand stays with the Panthers," Dreger said.
"But this is a family man and his family is going to have considerable influence and input as they should. There’s some speculation that maybe Brad Marchand goes back to the Boston Bruins and signs a longer term there. Maybe he morphs into a different role off ice when his playing days are over. If he gets to Tuesday, I can assure you that teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to do whatever they can to step up.Now, whether or not the Maple Leafs have the budget is yet to be seen. But most still think that the Florida Panthers will find a way to keep one of their older stars in the fold."
The Athletic's James Mirtle wrote over the weekend he believes Marchand could be target No. 1 for the Maple Leafs in free agency.
Marchand is the No. 2 player on TSN Hockey's top 50 NHL free agent board on the eve of free agent frenzy.
He had 23 goals and 28 assists for 51 points in 71 games combined between the two teams during the regular season. The 37-year-old had an additional 10 goals and 10 assists in 23 postseason games as the Panthers went on to win their second straight Cup.