Brad Marchand knows return to Boston will be emotional, fans might have hard time cheering

BOSTON — While Brad Marchand was on his way to dinner on Sunday night with former Bruins teammates Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, Tuukka Rask and Adam McQuaid, it started to hit him that he’d be playing at TD Garden on Tuesday as a visitor.

“I was kind of thinking about it and started getting a little emotional,” Marchand said on Monday. “It kind of hits you when you’re here a little bit more.”

The Florida Panthers play the Bruins on Tuesday for the first time this season. It will also mark the first time Marchand returns to TD Garden since being traded by Boston in March. The Panthers played the Bruins shortly after the trade, but Marchand was dealing with an injury and was unable to play.

“I was pretty happy I wasn’t playing in that game,” he said. “But I’m excited to play in this one. It will be fun to compete against guys I played with for a long time and be on the other side of it in here. I’m sure it will be an intense game. It will be fun to play in front of the Bruins fans again.”

Marchand knows it will be an emotional return. He understands Bruins fans aren’t fond of the Panthers, but is hoping they’ll show him a little love when he takes the ice.

“I think there’ll be a little bit of love there, maybe if I do something good,” Marchand said. “If I do something bad, they’ll probably boo me pretty quick. They’re pretty passionate here. They might have forgot already and treat me like any other Panther player.”

The Bruins and the Panthers have grown into rivals recently. It was Florida who eliminated Boston in the first round of the 2023-24 playoffs despite the Bruins setting NHL records for wins and points. The Panthers played spoiler again the following season, but during the second round.

“I’m sure it’s going to be tough for some people. They won’t be able to cheer because I know they don’t like the Panthers very much,” Marchand said. “But maybe they’ll like me enough to give it a little, ‘Yay!’ out there or something.”

Marchand is expecting Tuesday to be emotional for him. He’s grateful he doesn’t need to take faceoffs like Mats Sundin did when he returned to Toronto as a member of the Vancouver Canucks in 2009.

Sundin, who spent 13 seasons with the Maple Leafs, received a loud ovation in his first game against Toronto since his departure. He was so emotional he had to take extra time before he gathered himself enough to take the faceoff.

It’s something Marchand could envision happening to him.

“Luckily, I’m not a centerman,” he said. “So I don’t have to take the faceoff.”

Marchand had a brief experience as a visitor at TD Garden when he represented Team Canada in the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off in February. He admitted it was weird because he didn’t know where to go. At the time, he was still with the Bruins.

Now with the Panthers, he’s just going to try to enjoy the moment.

“I think I’m just excited about it,” he said. “I don’t really know what to expect emotionally. I think the closest I got to being on the other side was being here for Team Canada and against Team USA. Even that was a little bit different, I would say, in the way that I felt. But I’m just excited. It’ll be fun to be back here.

“It’ll be fun to play the Bruins,” Marchand continued. “It’ll be fun to play against teammates with friends and family in the building again. These are things that, down the road, I think I’ll really gonna appreciate.”