Start of season in doubt for Panthers F Brad Marchand

Florida Panthers forward Brad Marchand is recovering from offseason surgery and could miss the start of the 2026-27 season, Florida Hockey Now reported Saturday.

Marchand, 38, has been dealing with hip and sports hernia injuries and could be sidelined two or more months, according to the report.

The Panthers start training camp in about a month and open the regular season on Sept. 29 against the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, N.C.

Marchand commented about the procedure in an Instagram post earlier this week, explaining why he would not be able to play in former Boston Bruins teammate Zdeno Chara's upcoming charity game in Slovakia.

"I won't be able to make Z's game," Marchand says in the video post. "Unfortunately, I had to have a surgery, was trying to fix a problem without surgery, but unfortunately that was unable to happen and had to kind of do it last minute.

"With the time and recovery I am going to need, I won't be able to make it and play in the game unfortunately."

Marchand missed the final 19 games of the 2025-26 season with a lower-body injury. He finished with 54 points (27 goals, 27 assists) in 52 games.

A Stanley Cup winner with both the Bruins (2011) and Panthers (2025), Marchand has 1,034 points (451 goals, 583 assists) in 1,152 career games over 17 seasons with Boston and Florida.

--Field Level Media