Introducing ESPN’s college football preseason All-America team
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Chris Low, ESPN Senior Writer
The start of the 2023 college football season is almost here, which means it’s time to unveil ESPN’s preseason All-America team.
The offense should look familiar. Six players were on our 2022 postseason All-America team, including Heisman Trophy-winning USC quarterback Caleb Williams. The defense features more new faces.
What a player has done to this point in his career certainly matters in picking this team, but there’s some projection involved as well based on consultation with college coaches, NFL scouts and colleagues who cover the sport. The goal is to pick who we think will be the best players on the field this season.
Two-time defending national champion Georgia leads the way with five selections.
OFFENSE
This season Williams will attempt to do something that has been done only one other time in college football history, and that’s win the Heisman Trophy for a second time. Williams broke just about every USC quarterback record last season, including total offense (4,919 yards) and touchdowns accounted for (52). He’s a dynamic passer both in the pocket and on the move, and is always a threat to run when a play breaks down. A second Heisman would be nice, but Williams’ focus is clearly on getting the Trojans back to the College Football Playoff and winning their first national championship since 2004.
On his way to being a potential Heisman Trophy finalist last season, Corum injured his left knee in the next-to-last regular-season game and was done for the year. Corum can’t wait for the 2023 season after passing up a chance to turn pro. He said he’s “better than ever” — his mobility, cutting ability, everything. He rushed for 1,463 yards and 18 touchdowns before the injury a year ago and will again be the centerpiece of the Michigan running game. But he won’t be forced to carry too heavy a burden with sidekick Donovan Edwards also returning in the Wolverines’ backfield.
Judkins was sensational as a freshman in an Ole Miss offense that ranked third nationally in rushing (256.4 yards per game). His 1,567 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns led the SEC, and to put those numbers in perspective, Herschel Walker is the only player in SEC history to rush for more yards as a freshman. Judkins had eight 100-yard rushing games, including a pair of 200-yard performances. He has said he feels like he will have a better overall feel for the game in 2023, which means 3,000 yards in two seasons is not out of the question.
Harrison has everything you could want in a receiver and the production to go with it. As a sophomore, the 6-foot-4, 205-pound Harrison led the FBS with 878 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns against single coverage, according to Pro Football Focus. He had 20 catches of 20 yards or longer and said this summer that Ohio State would have beaten Georgia in the playoff last year had he not been knocked out of the game with a concussion on a play that was initially ruled targeting before being overturned. Perhaps Harrison will get another shot at the Dawgs this season.
The Michael Penix Jr.-to-Odunze connection is back, which isn’t the best news for the rest of the Pac-12. Both players considered turning pro, but they felt like there was unfinished business at UDub. Odunze had a breakout junior season a year ago in leading the Pac-12 in receiving yards (1,145) and became the first player in school history to have four straight 100-yard receiving games. He has the size (6-3, 210 pounds) and speed to give any defensive back fits, and it’s not going to be easy to shadow him with equally talented wideout Jalen McMillan on the other side.
Ever since making the trek from California to play for the Dawgs, Bowers has been the quintessential tight end, whether he’s catching the ball down the middle of the field and outrunning defenders, knocking a defender on his back side while blocking inside or on the edge and even taking a handoff and sprinting in for a touchdown. There’s not much the 6-4, 230-pound Bowers can’t do. He has scored 24 touchdowns in his first two seasons (20 receiving and four rushing) and returns for his junior season as one of the most valuable and versatile players in the sport.
The 6-8, 322-pound Alt is a repeat selection after making ESPN’s 2022 All-America team as a sophomore. He’s everything you look for in a left tackle and certainly has the bloodlines. His father, John Alt, is a Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Famer, and the younger Alt is on track to have a long career in the pros himself. A tight end in high school, Alt didn’t allow a sack last season and is equally dominant in the run game. Transfer quarterback Sam Hartman couldn’t ask for a better protector of his blind side.
There won’t be any shortage of talented guards in college football this season, but nobody has a more promising upside than the 6-5, 335-pound Booker with his blend of size, strength and agility. He was a Freshman All-American a year ago and will line up at right guard as a sophomore beside former IMG Academy teammate JC Latham at right tackle. It’s a right side of the Alabama offensive line that Latham said would be “dangerous” in 2023.
Van Pran was perhaps the most important recruit Georgia secured this offseason when he decided to return to school after starting every game at center for the Bulldogs during their two national championship seasons. He was at the top of the NFL’s list of center prospects a year ago and will anchor an offensive line that will feature some new faces in 2023. Now in his fourth season in the program, Van Pran is also one of the strongest leaders on Georgia’s team, and his experience will be especially beneficial with the Dawgs breaking in a new quarterback.
How’s this for a stat: Beebe hasn’t allowed a sack in his last 803 pass-blocking plays dating back to the 2020 season, according to Pro Football Focus. A fifth-year senior, Beebe has started 35 career games, 14 at left guard a year ago. He’s also played left tackle and right tackle during his Kansas State career and earned Big 12 offensive lineman of the year honors last season for the conference champions. Wherever Beebe lines up on the offensive line, he’s proven to be a difference-maker.
Had he declared for the NFL draft a year ago, Fashanu would have likely been a first-round selection. So it was a coup for Penn State to get him back at his left tackle position. At 6-6 and 319 pounds, Fashanu is a polished pass protector and has excellent footwork for a player his size. This will be only Fashanu’s second season as a starter, and those in and around the Penn State program are confident he will be even more dominant as a junior — and that’s after allowing no sacks in 281 pass-blocking snaps last season.
All-purpose: Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State
Egbuka, a junior receiver, was a finalist for the Paul Hornung Award last season as the most versatile player in college football. He caught 74 passes for 1,151 yards and 10 touchdowns and added a pair of rushing touchdowns. The Buckeyes also have used him to return punts and kickoffs. At receiver, they’ve used him in the slot, on the outside, and he’s also taken handoffs out of the backfield. “If there’s an issue, ‘Where’s Emeka? He’ll help us fix it,'” Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline said.
DEFENSE
Florida State is entering this season with the most buzz the program has had in a long time, and the Seminoles’ defense will be led by the 6-4, 260-pound Verse, who burst onto the scene a year ago after starting his career in the FCS ranks at Albany. Verse finished with 16.5 tackles for loss, including nine sacks, a year ago. With this being his second year in the system, and especially if he can stay healthy after battling a few injuries last season, Verse has a chance to put up even bigger numbers in 2023.
Anybody sleeping on Illinois’ defense or Newton is not paying attention. Newton has gone from a three-star recruit in high school to one of college football’s best interior defensive linemen. The 6-2, 295-pound Newton passed up the NFL to return for his fourth season, and Illinois’ D should again be salty after leading the country a year ago in scoring defense (12.8 points per game). Not only is Newton a menace inside, but fellow defensive lineman Keith Randolph is also a future pro. The “Law Firm,” as coach Bret Bielema calls them, combined for 27 tackles for loss last season.
Williams is coming off foot surgery that caused him to miss most of spring practice, but the Georgia staff is expecting more of what they saw out of him last season as a true freshman. The 6-5, 265-pound Williams tied Jalen Carter with a team-leading 31 quarterback hurries and played especially well in the CFP, getting a sack while matched up against Ohio State first-round draft pick Paris Johnson in the national semifinal. Williams flashed greatness in tying for the national lead among true freshmen with six sacks last season, and expect those flashes to become more of a fixture in 2023.
With Will Anderson Jr. moving on to the NFL, Turner assumes the role as Alabama’s marquee pass-rusher. Last season was his first as a full-time starter, and Turner’s speed jumps out whether he’s rushing the quarterback or chasing down a ball carrier. His numbers weren’t eye-popping as a sophomore (eight tackles for loss, four sacks), but he had 8.5 sacks as a freshman. New defensive coordinator Kevin Steele wants to create more negative plays on defense, and the 6-4, 242-pound Turner will play a key role in that.
Take your pick with Perkins. He can play linebacker or edge rusher, and wherever he lines up, he’s an impact defender. Perkins was still learning to play the game a year ago as a true freshman in the SEC and relied mostly on sheer athleticism to lead the team in tackles for loss (13), sacks (7.5), quarterback hurries (14) and forced fumbles (4). Look for Perkins to be more seasoned, more consistent and even more disruptive this season, which is bad news for opposing offenses.
The talented front-seven players that have come through Georgia on Kirby Smart’s watch are too many to count. The 6-1, 245-pound Dumas-Johnson smothers the run and is also adept at getting to the passer from his inside linebacker position. As a true sophomore last season, he led Georgia’s national championship defense with nine tackles for loss and was third in quarterback hurries (24). Dumas-Johnson was a finalist for the Butkus Award as the best linebacker in the country a year ago and will be right in that mix again in 2023.
Defensive coordinators love linebackers who can do a little bit of everything, and that’s why Clemson coordinator Wesley Goodwin is so high on Carter. The 6-1, 225-pound junior played a team-high 832 snaps last season, primarily because he rushes the passer, covers the pass and plays the run all at a high level. Easily one of college football’s most well-rounded linebackers, Carter teams with Jeremiah Trotter to give Clemson two of its best linebackers in the Dabo Swinney era.
McKinstry has been starting since the second game of his true freshman season and enters his junior year as the most accomplished cornerback in the nation. Already, some mock drafts have him going as a top-10 pick in the 2024 NFL draft. The 6-1, 195-pound McKinstry has the lockdown skills to limit teams’ best receivers, and with his experience, he’s the kind of cornerback we’ve seen on some of Nick Saban’s best defenses. McKinstry doubles as one of college football’s most dangerous punt returners.
One of the reasons Penn State keeps coming up in the national championship conversation this offseason is that this should be James Franklin’s best defense. There’s a ton of talent on that side of the ball — linebacker Abdul Carter and defensive ends Chop Robinson and Dani Dennis-Sutton to name a few. But having a cornerback the caliber of King on the back end creates all sorts of options for a defense. The 5-11, 191-pound junior was third nationally last season in passes defended (21) and pass breakups (18) and also had three interceptions.
Paired with former five-star recruit James Williams, Kinchens gives the Hurricanes one of the more talented safety tandems in the country. Miami limped to a 5-7 finish in Mario Cristobal’s first season as coach, but Kinchens was a star. He tied for first among Power 5 players with six interceptions, returning one of those 99 yards for a touchdown, and also led the team with 59 tackles. Kinchens has good size (205 pounds) and instincts and will be one of the more complete defensive backs in college football this season.
As good as Starks was as a true freshman, he should be even better as a sophomore with a year’s worth of experience and having an even better feel for Georgia’s system and the speed of the college game. The 6-1, 205-pound Starks led all Georgia defenders on its national championship team last season with 847 snaps played and finished third on the team with 68 total tackles while starting in all 15 games. Starks and Javon Bullard will give the Bulldogs one of the best safety duos in the country, as Bullard is moving from the nickel/star position to safety. Their combined versatility will be invaluable to a Georgia defense that has had 13 players drafted over the last two years.
SPECIAL TEAMS
It’s hard to beat perfection, but that’s what Karty was a year ago for the Cardinal in going 18-for-18 on field goal attempts, with a long of 61 yards that set a record for a Pac-12 game. As he enters his senior season and third as Stanford’s starting place-kicker, Karty’s accuracy will be a plus for a Cardinal offense searching for all the points it can muster after finishing 109th nationally in scoring last season. Karty also has great range. He made all three of his attempts from beyond 50 yards in 2022 and had 13 makes of 40 yards or longer.
Entering his fourth season as South Carolina’s punter, Kroeger has averaged 44.2 yards per punt during his career, emerging a year ago as an MVP candidate for the Gamecocks and one of the most flexible special teams players in the country. He averaged 46.1 yards per punt and had 29 punts downed inside the 20-yard line (three inside the 5 in a 31-30 win over rival Clemson). But Kroeger is more than just a punter. He’s thrown three career touchdowns as a trick play passer and also holds on place kicks.
Any time Griffin has the ball in his hands, the fun begins — unless you’re trying to tackle him. He led the nation in kickoff return average last season as a junior (32.3 yards on 19 returns) and has taken a kickoff back for a touchdown in each of the last two seasons. The 5-10, 180-pound Griffin had kickoff returns of 30 yards or longer in eight of the Bulldogs’ 13 games last season, and as a receiver, caught 40 passes for 502 yards and four touchdowns.
Last year, in the inaugural season of the 12-team College Football Playoff, eight of the teams that qualified had two losses.
Five of the seven at-large teams had two losses, and three of the five conference champions had at least two losses. Keep that in mind as more contenders fall each week and the playoff picture changes — this system is more forgiving.
Below you’ll find one team in the spotlight for each of the Power 4 leagues and another identified as an enigma. We’ve also tiered schools into five groups. Teams with Would be in status are featured in this week’s top 12 projection, a snapshot of what the selection committee’s ranking would look like if it were released today. Teams listed as On the cusp are the true bubble teams and the first ones outside the bracket. A team with Work to do is passing the eye test (for the most part) and has a chance at winning its conference, which means a guaranteed spot in the playoff. A team that Would be out is playing in the shadows of the playoff — for now. And a team that is Out will have to wait until next year.
The 13-member selection committee doesn’t always agree with the Allstate Playoff Predictor, so the following categories are based on historical knowledge of the group’s tendencies plus what each team has done to-date.
Reminder: This will change week-to-week as each team builds — or busts — its résumé.
Jump to a conference:
ACC | Big 12 | Big Ten
SEC | Independent | Group of 5
Bracket
SEC
Spotlight: Vanderbilt. The Commodores probably have more work to do in the selection committee meeting room than with the AP Poll voters. As good as the win against LSU was, it was Vandy’s first win against a Power 4 opponent with a winning record. Both Virginia Tech and South Carolina are sub-.500 teams right now, and wins against FCS Charleston Southern, a 1-6 Sun Belt team in Georgia State and a three-loss Utah State team aren’t enough to make the CFP. Vandy has enough opportunities, though, to change that, starting Saturday. If Vandy beats Mizzou, its chances of reaching the CFP will climb to 49%. A loss, though, would drop that to 14%. Vanderbilt’s toughest remaining games are against Missouri, at Texas and at Tennessee in the regular-season finale. If the Commodores lose one more game and finish 10-2, they’ve still got a chance, but how that résumé stacks up with other 10-2 teams leaves the door open for debate.
Enigma: Missouri. The Tigers are in a similar spot to Vanderbilt, with a loss to Alabama and even less to compensate for it. Missouri’s best win might have been Saturday’s double overtime win at now four-loss Auburn. It also has an FCS win against 2-4 Central Arkansas, a win against a 2-5 Sun Belt team in Louisiana and a win against a 0-7 MAC team, Massachusetts. Both Kansas and South Carolina are unranked and sub-.500. A win at Vanderbilt on Saturday would give Missouri its first ranked win AND its first win against ANY opponent with a winning record. A loss would put the Tigers in a must-win situation in November, needing to beat Texas A&M and win at Oklahoma on Nov. 22. Missouri has found ways to win against lesser competition, but it needs the second half of the season to show the committee it can do it against more elite teams, too.
If the playoff were today
Would be in: Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Texas A&M
On the cusp: Vanderbilt
Work to do: LSU, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas
Would be out: Mississippi State
Out: Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky, South Carolina, Florida
Big Ten
Spotlight: USC. Many were quick to dismiss the two-loss Trojans following their road loss to rival Notre Dame, but it was a nonconference game and USC still has a chance to change the Big Ten’s playoff picture. If USC can run the table, that would include a Nov. 22 win at Oregon (another team that could fall under the enigma category, given what has happened to Penn State). That head-to-head result would be critical because in that scenario, both teams would have two losses, and it’s one of the committee’s tiebreakers when teams are comparable. That’s currently the only game left on USC’s schedule that it’s not projected to win, as ESPN Analytics favors the Ducks (72.3%). That’s why USC currently has the fourth-best chance in the Big Ten to reach the playoff (15%) behind Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon.
Enigma: Iowa. The Hawkeyes have quietly won four of their past five games, that lone loss coming Sept. 27 to Indiana — by a whopping five points. Is that really the gap between Iowa and the nation’s No. 2 team? Iowa has a chance to prove it in the second half of the season with back-to-back games against Oregon and at USC. Iowa would have to run the table and finish 10-2 to have a chance — and ESPN Analytics gives the Hawkeyes a less than 1% chance to do that. In addition to the loss to the Hoosiers, Iowa also lost at rival Iowa State, and the selection committee would consider that it was a close loss on the road early in the season to an in-state rival. It’s not a dagger — nor is a close loss to Indiana — but the Hawkeyes still have a lot to prove, and it won’t be easy. Iowa has less than a 50% chance to beat Oregon, USC and Nebraska.
If the playoff were today
Would be in: Indiana, Ohio State, Oregon
On the cusp: None
Work to do: Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, USC
Would be out: Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Washington
Out: Maryland, Michigan State, Penn State, Rutgers, Purdue, UCLA, Wisconsin
ACC
Spotlight: Virginia. Following Miami’s loss to Louisville, the two teams with the highest chance to reach the ACC championship game are now Georgia Tech (62.3%) and Virginia (39.4%). The Cavaliers’ 30-27 overtime win at Louisville looks even better after the Cardinals knocked off Miami. The Sept. 6 loss at NC State will be a sticking point in the committee meeting room if the Cavaliers don’t win the ACC, though, or finish as a two-loss runner-up. Virginia isn’t likely to play a ranked CFP opponent in the second half of the season, but that also means running the table is a realistic scenario. According to ESPN Analytics, the only remaining game Virginia isn’t favored to win is Nov. 15 at Duke.
Enigma: Louisville. Any team that has a chance to win its conference has a chance to make the 12-team CFP, and Louisville has a 19.5% chance to reach the ACC title game and a 16% chance to win out. The Cardinals could be a CFP top 25 team if they continue to play like they did in their win at Miami. Their lone loss was in overtime to Virginia, and they now have a statement win against a CFP contender in Miami. Their problem is the rest of their résumé, but a nonconference win against James Madison is respectable, considering the Dukes are 6-1 in the Sun Belt with an outside chance at the playoff. The win against Pitt is decent, as the Panthers are over .500, but Louisville needs to look the part down the stretch, as only Cal and SMU are over .500 and nobody is ranked. The only game left on the Cardinals’ schedule they’re not favored to win is Nov. 22 at SMU, according to ESPN Analytics.
If the playoff were today
Would be in: Miami, Georgia Tech
On the cusp: Virginia
Work to do: Louisville
Would be out: Cal, Duke, NC State, Pitt, SMU, Stanford, Wake Forest
Out: Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina, Syracuse, Virginia Tech
Big 12
Spotlight: Texas Tech. The close loss at Arizona State knocked the Red Raiders out of the top 12 projection and onto the bubble. If Texas Tech wins the Big 12 but finishes outside the selection committee’s top 12, it would still lock up a spot in the playoff as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions. The Red Raiders are still on track to do that and have the best chance (61%) of any team in the Big 12 to reach the conference championship, followed by undefeated BYU (59.1%). Those teams play each other on Nov. 8, and Texas Tech will have home-field advantage. The two can face each other again in the Big 12 title game. Where it gets tricky is if Texas Tech finishes as a two-loss Big 12 runner-up. Some of it would depend on how the Red Raiders lost in the title game and how ASU fares down the stretch. Texas Tech has the seventh-best chance in the country to win out (23.2%), according to ESPN Analytics.
Enigma: Cincinnati. The Bearcats are undefeated in Big 12 play and 6-1 overall, with their lone loss in the season opener to Nebraska. The question is if they can sustain their success against the No. 26 most difficult remaining schedule in the second half of the season. They have the third-best chance to reach the conference championship behind Texas Tech and BYU — two teams that still have to play each other. Cincy doesn’t play the Red Raiders, but it will face BYU on Nov. 22 at home. November road trips to Utah and TCU also won’t be easy, as ESPN Analytics gives Cincinnati a less than 50% chance to win each of those games.
If the playoff were today
Would be in: BYU
On the cusp: Texas Tech
Work to do: Arizona State, Cincinnati, Houston
Would be out: Arizona, Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, TCU, UCF, Utah
Out: Colorado, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, West Virginia
Independent
On the cusp: Notre Dame. With the win against USC, the Irish climbed to No. 12 in this week’s CFP projection — quite a turnaround from the 0-2 start. But they would still be out if the playoff were today because the fifth highest-ranked conference champion, which this week is again projected to be South Florida, is outside of the committee’s top 12. That means the No. 12-ranked team gets excluded to include the Bulls. Notre Dame is in must-win mode for the rest of the season but still has the best chance of any team in the country (69.2%) to win out. If undefeated Navy can keep winning, the Irish might have another ranked opponent on their schedule to add to the USC win.
Group of 5
Spotlight: South Florida. No Group of 5 team has a better chance to reach the playoff right now than the Bulls (45.9%), according to ESPN Analytics — well above the second-best teams, North Texas (14.7%) and Tulane (14%). The American has separated itself from the other Group of 5 conferences because of the winning records, but also because of the strong nonconference opponents. South Florida’s wins against Boise State and Florida give it a significant boost over other contenders, and the lone loss — while lopsided — was on the road against a Miami team that still looks like a playoff contender. South Florida’s 63-36 drubbing of North Texas on the road was also significant. The American’s best teams, though, still have to play each other, and South Florida will travel to Memphis, Navy and UAB, which just beat Memphis.
Enigma: Tulane. Like South Florida, Tulane also played a respectable nonconference lineup that includes wins against Northwestern and Duke — both Power 4 teams that are above .500. The Green Wave’s only loss was a 45-10 drubbing at Ole Miss, but the Rebels are one of the top playoff contenders. Tulane and South Florida don’t play during the regular season, but they could face each other in the conference championship game. Tulane has the third-best chance to reach it (14%), just a hair behind North Texas (14.7%). The toughest game left on the Green Wave’s schedule is Nov. 7 at Memphis. ESPN Analytics gives Memphis a 66.2% chance to win.
If the playoff were today
Would be in: South Florida
Work to do: Boise State, James Madison, Memphis, Navy, North Texas, Tulane, UNLV
Bracket
Based on our weekly projection, the seeding would be:
First-round byes
No. 1 Ohio State (Big Ten champ)
No. 2 Indiana
No. 3 Alabama (SEC champ)
No. 4 Texas A&M
First-round games
On campus, Dec. 19 and 20
No. 12 South Florida (American champ) at No. 5 Georgia
No. 11 BYU (Big 12 champ) at No. 6 Miami (ACC champ)
No. 10 Georgia Tech at No. 7 Ole Miss
No. 9 Oklahoma at No. 8 Oregon
Quarterfinal games
At the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl Presented by Prudential and Allstate Sugar Bowl on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.
No. 12 South Florida/No. 5 Georgia winner vs. No. 4 Texas A&M
No. 11 BYU/No. 6 Miami winner vs. No. 3 Alabama
No. 10 Georgia Tech/No. 7 Ole Miss winner vs. No. 2 Indiana
No. 9 Oklahoma/No. 8 Oregon winner vs. No. 1 Ohio State
Sports
‘The fans make it awesome’: What to expect in Brad Marchand’s first game back in Boston as a visitor
BOSTON — On the day of the 2025 NHL trade deadline, one of the most transformative days for the Boston Bruins in recent memory, Charlie McAvoy was stuck on his couch.
The Boston defenseman was still recovering from an injury he sustained at the 4 Nations Face-Off that landed him in the hospital. The Bruins were in Tampa on a two-game trip.
McAvoy and his wife watched the minutes tick down to the 3 p.m. ET deadline and breathed a sigh of relief. Despite rumors his team might tear it all down, the damage wasn’t as bad as they had feared.
“And then things started coming in after the deadline, 3:10, 3:15,” McAvoy recalls. “And it’s just tough. It’s the nature of hockey. It’s the business of the game. But there’s human beings behind it all, great friends, great friends of my wife’s. And it’s sad. It’s never easy seeing your friends move on and go to different places.”
The Bruins were one of the busiest teams on March 7, trading five veteran players. The deepest dagger: saying goodbye to captain Brad Marchand. It wasn’t just that the Bruins parted with a player they drafted in the third round nearly 20 years ago, a feisty winger who helped them win a Stanley Cup in 2011 and a leader who matured under their watch and continued to establish the team culture. The destination was equally stunning: Florida. The Panthers shocked the historically dominant Bruins in 2023 by knocking them out in the first round of the playoffs, then won their first Stanley Cup the following season. They were the team with which Marchand had helped brew a new rivalry. And the team that catapulted above Boston atop the hockey world.
In the seven months since the trade, Marchand helped the Panthers win another Stanley Cup, scoring six goals (and two game winners) in the Final against Edmonton. Marchand continued to taunt opponents, became beloved in the Panthers’ locker room, and seemed to be having more fun than ever embracing Florida’s culture.
“Brad is an honest man, and that’s why he fits in our group,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said in June. “He loves the game, loves the people around him, is very open, very gregarious, so just fits right in. He’s completely accepted.”
Marchand re-signed in Florida this summer on a six-year, $31.5 million deal — which one rival front office executive called “sticker shock for a 37-year-old.” Meanwhile, the Bruins embraced a hard reset, recalibrating short-term expectations while injecting the roster with younger players.
On Tuesday, Marchand will return to TD Garden ice for the first time as an opponent of the Bruins (7:30 ET, ESPN).
“I’m excited for this one. I mean, it’ll be fun to compete against guys I played with for a long time and be on the other side of it,” Marchand said Monday. “I’m sure it will be a pretty intense game. It will be fun to play in front of the Bruins fans again.”
Everyone is bracing for emotion.
“I’m sure that we’ll have a very neat tribute for him and all the blood, sweat, and tears that he gave for the Bruins — one of the best Bruins to ever play,” McAvoy said. “I think he’ll get an amazing ovation from the crowd. And then he’ll probably get booed right after.”
“I’m sure it’s going to be tough for some people,” Marchand said. “They won’t be able to cheer because they don’t like the Panthers very much. Maybe they’ll like me enough to give a little ‘Yay’ or something.”
IT WAS ALWAYS Marchand’s intention to be a life-long Bruin. It was the Bruins’ design to contend for a Stanley Cup last season. It all derailed with a disastrous start, which cost coach Jim Montgomery his job 20 games into the season.
“Last year was a seismic shift in terms of how we’ve been,” Bruins GM Don Sweeney told ESPN. “We had to take a cold, hard look in the mirror and understand where we were. We weren’t anywhere close to the level we had been the last six, seven years, and we had to make some really hard decisions professionally, and really hard decisions personally.”
Marchand, who was named Bruins captain in September 2023, was in the final year of an eight-year $49 million contract. While he and the Bruins were engaged in contract talks for several months, the negotiations stalled, even with the pressure point of the trade deadline looming. Marchand wanted security and to be paid his value. The Bruins had other parameters.
“I was never going to take a one or two-year deal. Not even a three-year deal. That just wasn’t in the cards,” Marchand told reporters ahead of this season. “I want to play as long as I can. That’s the main reason why it didn’t work out in Boston. I want to play until I get kicked out of the league.”
Marchand was injured at the time of the deadline; it was looking like a timeframe of four to six weeks. Sweeney said his management group determined that because of the team’s place in the standings, the deadline would mark a “directional shift,” with a focus on adding to the team’s depleted prospect pool. Veterans Charlie Coyle, Brandon Carlo, Trent Frederic and Justin Brazeau were also traded as the Bruins acquired six draft picks (including two first-round picks and two second-round picks), two prospects (notably 21-year-old center Fraser Minten, who is already contributing) and several under-30 roster players, including Casey Mittelstadt, Marat Khusnutdinov and Henri Jokiharju.
The most difficult file was Marchand. According to sources, the Bruins had a deal in place with the Los Angeles Kings but honored Marchand’s desire to stay in the East for family reasons. Florida, unbeknownst to the public, was his top destination. He believed he might have only one more opportunity to win a Stanley Cup, and the Panthers were loading up for their back-to-back bid.
Even after that trade, the Bruins never saw the door as fully closed with Marchand. But they never got the opportunity to formally discuss a contract again, as he re-signed with the Panthers before reaching free agency on July 1.
“We certainly had discussions about it, where he would fit in long term,” Sweeney said. “Upon the opportunity to talk to Brad after the trade, he focused on the fact that he was going to get a long-term deal. That wasn’t going to change between what he accomplished of winning a Stanley Cup and if he were able to get to July 1. We didn’t get the opportunity to cross that bridge [because he re-signed with the Panthers], but we certainly would’ve entertained having Brad back if he had decided that, within the parameters that we could do.”
That closed the chapter on Marchand’s tenure with the Bruins, one that included 976 points over 1,090 games, and endless memories.
“Ultimately what he always wants is to be in the playoffs and to win, and that’s what he was able to accomplish last year,” Sweeney said. “So we’re proud of him for that, but unfortunately it wasn’t with us.”
MARCHAND HAS MAINTAINED his deep ties to Boston. He says his favorite part of the city is the fans, unequivocally.
“The city is incredible, but the fans make it awesome. They’re just very unique,” Marchand said. “It’s as simple as, every time I go get a coffee — I have the same routine, same coffee shop every day — there was a message on my cup, if I had a good game or bad game the night before. It would be like, ‘Tough one for you last night.’ All the way down, they bleed black and gold. It’s part of why there’s so much pressure on the team to have success and why they focus on it so much. You can’t slip. You don’t have the ability to slip in this city, or you’re going to hear about it. We wanted to produce and be good for the fans and live up to that reputation, so it makes it special to play here.”
The Panthers arrived in town early on the final leg of a five-game trip. On Sunday night, Marchand went to dinner with a group that included several former teammates: Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, Tuukka Rask and Adam McQuaid. On who fronted the bill, Marchand quipped: “They bullied me. I did.”
Marchand’s more recent teammates, such as McAvoy, were dialed in to his playoff run with the Panthers. McAvoy is superstitious, so because he didn’t text Marchand early in the playoffs, he held off reaching out until the series was over.
“We were able to connect right away after they won, and I told him it was just really inspiring watching him play,” McAvoy said. “He’s just a big-time player. It’s so fun to see a guy who has been with you, and to see the fire he still has. It allowed me to sort of reset in my head a little bit, and find that fire again.”
The Bruins have a new coach in Marco Sturm and, according to Sweeney, have put a heavy emphasis on being harder to play against. Everyone must earn their ice time. The culture is also continuing to evolve. The team has not yet named a captain, after the role had been filled consecutively by Chara, Bergeron and then Marchand.
McAvoy said he and David Pastrnak are learning how to take on a bigger role, while still staying authentic to themselves and the tradition before them. It’s one of the ways Marchand’s legacy still lives with the team.
“For a long time in Boston, you had Bergy, Z, and Marshy, and they were this perfect triangle of guys that leaned on each other, that each had different personalities,” McAvoy said. “You can talk forever about how amazing they are as individuals, how big their hearts are, how much they care for everyone around them. That’s certainly one of the pillars: caring for your teammate, and going above and beyond for them. Those three guys put that on display every day, making it fun to come to the rink. That was something they fostered there — that made it great to be a Bruin.”
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