NHL: Boston Bruins at St. Louis Blues - Source: Imagn — Charlie McAvoy reacts to captain Brad Marchand getting traded - Source: Imagn

Charlie McAvoy reacts to captain Brad Marchand getting traded to the Panthers on trade deadline

Modified Mar 08, 2025 03:35 GMT

The Boston Bruins traded team captain Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers in a blockbuster trade. Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy was just as heartbroken as the fanbase upon the news.

On Friday, McAvoy shared stories on his Instagram following the trade of teammates Charlie Coyle, Brandon Carlo and Brad Marchand. One of the throwback pictures featured McAvoy sharing a hug with Marchand during a game against the Flames. He added two broken heart emojis in the caption of the story.

He also posted pictures with Trent Frederic who was traded to the Edmonton Oilers. It was followed by pictures with Charlie Coyle, who was acquired by Colorado.

The Bruins traded Marchand to the Panthers for a second-round pick, which could become a first-rounder if Florida advances two rounds in the playoffs and he plays in at least 50% of their games.

Forward Justin Brazeau was sent to Minnesota, Marc McLaughlin to New Jersey, and defenseman Brandon Carlo to Toronto. Earlier in the week, forward Trent Frederic was traded to Edmonton.

In return, from Colorado, they got forwards Casey Mittelstadt and William Zellers, along with a 2025 second-round pick in exchange for Coyle and a 2026 fifth-round pick. From Buffalo, they acquired defenseman Henri Jokiharju for a 2026 fourth-round pick.

The Devils sent defenseman Daniil Misyul for McLaughlin. From Minnesota, Boston got forwards Marat Khusnutdinov and Jakub Lauko plus a 2026 sixth-round pick for Brazeau. The trade with Toronto brought them prospect Fraser Minten and a 2026 first-round pick for Carlo.

Bruins GM claims trading Brad Marchand was a ‘difficult’ decision

Marchand was traded because he and the Bruins could not agree on a new contract. Bruins GM Don Sweeney claimed that the team and Marchand were too far apart on contract length, which led to the trade.

Sweeney also admitted that Marchand’s upper-body injury complicated trade negotiations.

“That’s the decision that was made,” Sweeney said. “Then we had to make a really, really difficult decision to say, well, let’s give Brad another opportunity (to win a Stanley Cup) with a really good team. Then he can make his decision what he thinks is best moving forward (after the season).” [H/T Masslive]

He stated that discussions had been ongoing since the start of free agency but there was a "gap" that could not be closed.

“Once the gap was there that he wasn’t going to sign, we could have taken the time in between now and then. Maybe it changes. But the time leading up to it hadn’t,” he said. “And that’s where the tipping point says I have to do what’s best for the organization.”

Sweeney, however, did not rule out the possibility of Marchand returning to Boston if he does not re-sign with Florida when his contract ends. He mentioned that Marchand is "beloved" in Boston and the decision was made in the best interest of the team.

About the author

Anjum is an NHL reporter at Sportskeeda with over five years of professional experience in the industry. Having an educational background in Media Studies, she strives to present information in a clear and unbiased manner, so that all perspectives are considered and represented fairly.

Anjum prioritizes thorough research, fact-checking and verification of sources when reporting, and has worked for the Nation of Blaugrana, Barca International Cules, FromTheBend, Last Word On Sports and NASA.

She got interested in ice hockey after watching the “MVP” trilogy as a second grader and has not gotten over the sport yet. Her favorite player is Alex Ovechkin, whose legendary one-timers live rent free in her heart. The iconic moment when Ovechkin reached 800 career goals with a hat trick in Chicago as the away crowd chanted “Ovi, Ovi” is probably her happiest memory from an ice-rink.

She is a self-taught musician, loves silversmithing and can be found at her workbench if she’s not watching or writing about sports.

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