FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Brad Marchand said he's considered re-signing with the Florida Panthers this offseason but stressed that his focus remains on winning the Stanley Cup before making any free agency decisions.
"Yeah, I've thought about it. But we'll deal with that in the future," said Marchand.
The Panthers acquired Marchand from Boston after he and the Bruins were unable to come to terms on a contract extension. Marchand becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Next season will be his 17th in the NHL.
The 37-year-old left wing could be a coveted veteran player on the free-agent market, having scored 23 goals with 28 assists in 71 games this season. He remains a solid two-way player who plays a tenacious, agitating game. But his stock has only risen in this run to the Stanley Cup Final with the Panthers in which Marchand has 17 points in 19 games with seven goals -- two of them scored in Florida's Game 2 win in Edmonton, including the game-winner in double-overtime.
"I didn't appreciate how good his hands are. They're kind of in that Matthew Tkachuk mode. That's a set of hands that's at the top end. Those guys are special," said coach Paul Maurice of Marchand. "He's an exceptional man. Really enjoy having him."
Marchand said he's tried to keep thoughts about his future out of his mindset, with the Panthers tied 1-1 with the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final.
"The longest you can go is two weeks, so you're in the moment that entire time. You can't have your mind in any other place other than right here and now," he said. "I've said it so often during this run: You have to enjoy these moments. They don't come often. There's no other thought in my mind right now."
When the postseason wraps up and Marchand turns his attention to free agency, the Panthers would appear to have an advantage to retain him. Not only have the Panthers advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for three straight seasons -- and Marchand has praised the organization's professionalism behind the scenes -- but Florida is one of six U.S.-based teams that have no state income taxes. The Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights have all won Stanley Cups and have been to multiple Cup Finals since 2020. The Dallas Stars have made three straight Western Conference Finals.
While other teams and their fan bases have protested about this advantage in a salary capped league, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly recently said the league and the players aren't looking to address the issue in their next Collective Bargaining Agreement.
"These imbalances have existed forever," said Daly. "There's nothing new here. There are so many reasons why a player can choose to play in a particular location for a particular team that have nothing to do with the tax situation in that market. So I don't expect it's anything we're going to address proactively as part of this collective bargaining negotiation."
Marchand indicated that, as a veteran player, the local tax advantages will play into his free agent thinking.
"There are teams where that absolutely matters. It doesn't matter for every player, but when you're dealing with guys that have choice between multiple teams, it absolutely plays a part," said Marchand. "If you have two teams that are offering the same contract, you're going to pick the team with less tax."
Marchand said teams without that income tax advantage typically have to pay players more, which impacts their cap space and their ability to maintain a successful team.
"Most contending teams don't have a lot of cap space," he said. "When you look at Canadian teams, most of them have an extremely high tax rate. Then the California teams, same thing. So those teams are going to have to pay more money to get certain players than others."
Game 3 is scheduled for Monday night in Sunrise.
