Former Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand made his return to TD Garden on Tuesday with the Florida Panthers and was honored with a video tribute.
During the first TV timeout of the game, the Bruins rolled out a video tribute honoring Marchand for his time in Boston. During the video, Marchand became emotional and even shed some tears.
Following the game, Marchand spoke to reporters and explained why he got emotional during the video package.
“I was trying not to cry, that is what I was trying to do,” Marchand said on Tuesday, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “As soon as I saw my kids on the screen, it kind of hit like a ton of bricks. The memories. The emotions of everything. The years and the incredible times. It just kind of comes pouring into your memory. It’s just crazy to see.
“There’s a lot of things I forget. The years all bunch together. Careers go by fast. It doesn’t matter how long you’re in it — it goes by extremely fast. To see a snapshot of that in a clip like that, it brings everything back, and the amount of pride that I had, that I have, that I played here and in this organization, I just couldn’t hold it in. It meant a lot.”
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Marchand recorded the primary assist on the Panthers’ first goal of the game. The former Bruins captain finished the game with two assists, as he helped Florida get a 4-3 win over Boston.
Marchand played parts of 16 seasons with the Bruins and helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2011.
