Florida Panthers forward and two-time Stanley Cup winner Brad Marchand needed to be carried off the ice after suffering an injury only a few games into the NHL season.
Marchand’s previous season ended with a lower body injury in March that eventually required sports hernia surgery.
After missing the entire preseason and the first two games of the regular season, Marchand was in his second game of action against the Los Angeles Kings when he injured his left leg.
In a bizarre series of events, Marchand took a stick to the face from Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke, which caused him to twist around and collide with the right post before his left leg bent back awkwardly.
Marchand laid down on the ice for several minutes as he was tended to by trainers before teammates Niko Mikkola and Brady Tkachuk helped him to the bench.
The 38-year-old wasn’t able to put any weight on his leg and he was helped back to the locker room.
Panthers star Brad Marchand suffered a leg injury just days after returning from hernia surgery
Marchand injured his left leg in the second period of a game against the Los Angeles Kings
Marchand’s injury comes days after Aleksander Barkov was ruled out for up to eight weeks
Head coach Paul Maurice didn’t have any update on his condition, telling reporters: ‘We’ll get him looked at probably Thursday.’
Marchand is in his third season with Florida. After being named the captain of the Boston Bruins and having played his whole prior career in Massachusetts – having won the 2011 Stanley Cup with the team – he was traded to Florida in March of 2025.
That season, Marchand won his second Stanley Cup – helping the Panthers clinch back-to-back titles.
Marchand has been previously characterized as a ‘pest’ in his career – a reputation he has moved beyond – and was involved in multiple controversies in his younger years.
Florida’s past two seasons have been impacted by injuries, not only to Marchand.
Captain Aleksander Barkov injured his left leg in San Jose last Thursday. Maurice said that Barkov is expected to miss six to eight weeks but will not need surgery.
‘I mean, we have a little experience with Sasha going down, so it wasn’t quite as shocking the second time it happened,’ Maurice said.
‘We know we have good depth. And there’s a threshold for any team, a number of injuries you just can’t survive, and we passed that early last year. So, real good resolve here. The tank is deep right now. We had a big summer off, so we’re strong.’
