The Panthers have had a rough one in terms of injuries and suspensions but have, regardless, managed to stay on top of things. Star left wing Matthew Tkachuk has been out of things since February, when he sustained a groin injury during the 4 Nations Face-Off. And then there was that whole thing with defenseman Aaron Ekblad failing a drug test and being suspended for 20 games. His suspension remains active till Florida’s third game in the playoffs, but last night, against the Buffalo Sabres, the Panthers were without an additional four key players! Ugh, Paul Maurice must have been sweating!

But despite having captain Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, and Dmitry Kulikov out of commission, the Panthers managed a commendable win against the Sabres, 3-2. In light of the team’s huge handicap going into the game, head coach Paul Maurice was asked what his thoughts were on the MVPs of the night and named a few select players, and not necessarily who you might think!

While the second-string goaltender Vitek Vanecek got a special mention with Maurice saying, “Our goalie was really good when he needed to be.” He continued, “I liked Carter Verhaege and Rodriguez’s game. I thought those two guys, there’s been some good chemistry there. Think Evan Rodriguez has put together 3 really, really good games.” But other players, including Jonah Gadjovich, Jesse Puljujärvi, and Anton Lundell, also received shoutouts from their coach.

Gadjovich was commended for his physicality. “He’s a tank of a man,” said Maurice, while Puljujärvi was noted as being an “interesting” player. And Lundell? Paul Maurice had some special words for him. “Anton’s the easy pick. He’s the lead dog out there.” Which might leave many Bostonians wondering… What about our lead dog, Brad Marchand?

How has former Bruins MVP Brad Marchand been performing in Florida in the past few games?

Needless to say, Brad Marchand, once a hero in Boston, has not yet found his footing in Florida. Let’s call it the humidity, but Marchand only had two assists in his first seven games with Florida, and his first goal came with his 15th shot! While it’s true it typically takes an NHL player a few weeks to a few months to adjust to a new team, and it’s been just over a month since Marchand was traded, we do definitely need to cut him some slack in this transition period.

However, not having his name on Paul Maurice’s post-game MVP list, especially when in the 2023-2024 season Marchand posted 29 goals and 67 points in 82 games with the Bruins, is a bit disheartening.

Of course, there have been other high-profile forwards who have also struggled with transitions. Even high-profile forwards like Patrick Kane and Claude Giroux also struggled to make that flashy debut impact on their new teams. It’s a tough one, because changing a team also means changing an entire style of play, and with Tkachuk gone since January, the other players on the Panthers have had more time to embrace his and Bennett’s ‘bad boy’ style.

However, before we jump to any conclusions about Marchand’s expected output dropping negligibly since the trade, etc., etc., let’s remind ourselves it’s only been a month, and Marchand was even famously quoted to have said about playing with Florida, “I’m just enjoying this whole journey.” Let’s just hope he starts enjoying the big wins once the playoffs begin. Till then, Paul Maurice will probably keep his cool for safety’s sake.