“It’s a team effort every night … It’s just sticking to our system,” said Carter Verhaeghe after the Florida Panthers won their third consecutive conference final. While the Carolina Hurricanes did manage to avoid the sweep, their Stanley Cup dreams came to an end in Game 5. However, besides making it to the final as the defending champion, something bizarre involving Brad Marchand happened after the match that caught many people’s attention.
Among them was the NHL’s colour commentator and analyst, Pat McAfee, and his co-hosts on The Pat McAfee Show. So when Matthew Tkachuk showed up for a chat with Pat McAfee and Co., they couldn’t help but ask about it. But what happened in the first place? The fans who stuck around long enough to see every Panthers’ star skate off the ice saw Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, and Evan Rodrigues fire pucks at one of their own.
A bizarre ritual with one condition
Now, everyone already knows what happened when Canes’ forward Shayne Gostisbehere fired a puck at Marchand during Game 1. Marchand took seconds to drop his gloves, earning a 5-minute major and ejection as a result. Yet, this wasn’t anything like. Rather, this was a superstition that Marchand, Rodrigues, and the captain, Aleksander Barkov, initially started. The only condition was that the Panthers had to win.
“I don’t actually recall how it started because I wasn’t playing,” the alternate captain told McAfee. “I think it started with Rody. E-Rod shot the first one at him, and then Barky was like ‘All right, well if you’re going to shoot one, then I’ll nicely pass one into you.’ Then, when I came back, and we started firing them at him,” revealed Matthew Tkachuk.
Image via Instagram/ ksamiljanaire
“It’s been a fun tradition. People seem to like it. It fits what our team’s all about: Having fun and not taking anything too seriously,” added the Cats’ star. Now, superstitions don’t win hockey games, but they sure make a difference in morale. In fact, you don’t even have to look beyond the 2025 payoffs to see another example.
Winnipeg Jets’ star Gabriel Vilardi’s girlfriend, Megan Rodgers, revealed how even the fans get into superstitious practices when the Stanley Cup is at stake. “Just superstitious stuff,” Rodgers said during the Julie & Cat podcast, confessing they kept playing the same music, had the same drink, and even sat in the same seats during Game 7. Yes, that Game 7 from Round 1, where the Jets scored the winning goal just 2.2 seconds before the buzzer. That being said, this ritual is just another example of how well Marchand has settled into the Panthers team.
Brad Marchand should’ve had a much harder time
While teammates following illusory rituals are not uncommon in sports, you rarely see someone new to the team participate in them. While Marchand is an NHL veteran with 16 seasons as the captain of the Boston Bruins, he is a Cats freshman. The Florida Panthers acquiring Marchand was a surprise and a last-minute trade, as the Bruins desperately tried to make a change before the window closed in early March.
Fans and experts thought the 36-year-old, who played for the Panthers’ divisional rivals for years, would have a hard time settling in. Yet, the exact opposite happened. Marchand fit the Florida Panthers system like a glove and immediately became a high-value player. After a honeymoon period during the final few regular-season games, Marchand became a key part of the Panthers’ offense.
Credits: Instagram/ @flapanthers
Brad Marchand retained the moniker of the Maple Leafs killer when he helped dig the Cats out of the hole against the Leafs with an OT goal in Game 3. However, it was the system that Carter Verhaeghe talked about that also helped Marchand settle in so fast. “The system… it helps regardless of your skill, talent, or physicality level,” the hockey veteran said after scoring his first goal in a Panthers jersey.
“The expectations are the same right through the lineup,” added the former Boston Bruins captain. So while such a rushed transfer should’ve messed up Brad Marchand’s season, it ultimately turned out to be a blessing in disguise. In fact, one of McAfee’s hosts said Marchand was “born to be a Bruin, but built to win a cup with the Panthers.” Now, time will tell if that prediction, coupled with the puck-hit tradition, gives the Cats another Stanley Cup.
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