Copyright The Boston Globe
But … The kids. The years. The time spent in Boston, growing as a player, as a person, as a Bruin to be revered and remembered. It all cascaded through his head before that giant knot welled in his throat, grew too big, and the tears began to stream down his face, rivulets of thanks and farewell. He appreciated seeing it, he said, but the tribute was also torture. “I always loved playing here,” Marchand said when the night was over — a night the Li’l Ball o’Hate admitted caused him angst for weeks. “I loved putting the jersey on and wearing my heart on my sleeve. It’s a hard-working city and people appreciate that. I love the fans here. They are special. They are an incredible group.” Did we expect he would say anything different? Of course not. Not anyone who paid attention during his time here. For all his undying reputation of being Peck’s Bad Boy, Marchand forever was sincere, often blunt and unvarnished, and forever sincere. “It was a very, very special night for myself and my family,” he said. “I was trying not to cry — that’s what I was trying to do, and as soon as I saw my kids on the screen, it kind of hit like a ton of bricks … the memories, the emotion, just the years and the years, the incredible times. It just kind of comes pouring into your memory.” The big board over center ice framed the show, the Garden crowd rising to a standing ovation as the Marchand tribute video, approximately two minutes long, rolled during a break in the action 9:21 into the first period. Marchand, on the bench as the highlight reel began to play, could be seen struggling to keep his own head game in check. “I wasn’t going to cry.” Good luck with that. As the video frame rolled and the seconds ticked away, “Marchy” turned into a Li’l Ball o’ Mush, the tears rolling down his chiseled cheeks as he hopped over the boards late into the tribute. The standing ovation, with scores of fans in TD Garden sporting their No. 63 Marchand sweaters, continued to roll for another 60 seconds after the video finished. Skating around in front of the Florida benched, Marchand acknowledged it all, thank yous in the form of stick taps and then a gloved hand held to his heart. More tears poured out. More memories. More years gone by, from the time he arrived here as a 21-year-old to his last game in a Bruins uniform March 1 of this year (exiting early upon being injured during a matinee in Pittsburgh). “I love how much they care about the team here,” he said. “I said to someone the other day, they want to win as much or more as we want to win. If we lose a game, they go to work [ticked] the next day. They love the team. They bleed black and gold — I built such a great relationship with the fans and I always appreciated that.” With but 61 seconds ticked off the game clock, Marchand put his name on the scoresheet for a 987th time (427-560-987), an assist on a Mackie Samoskevich power-play goal. It was a classic dig-for-every-inch-junkyard-dog Marchand moment, which had him parked off the post and hacking away at the puck on Jeremy Swayman’s doorstep. Samoskevich had the final touch to nudge it by Swayman, with Marchand getting the primary assist. Panthers, 1-0, and the Bruins were en route to their fifth consecutive loss. Marchand also had his name on Florida’s 3-2 strike midway through the final period, picking up his second primary helper of the night with a dish that sprang Eetu Luostarinen for the tiebreaker. The Finnish left winger hauled in Marchand’s lead pass, gained a step on defenseman Mason Lohrei in the offensive zone, then dotted the top right corner on Swayman. Part of what made coming back difficult, explained Marchand, was his concern that he did not want to “disrespect the team that I’m on in any capacity.” He left Boston, noted Marchand, “and I turned the page, and I found something truly special again. I am very, very proud and blessed to be part of.” But Boston, Causeway Street, the Garden, all those years with that spoked-B on his chest, was where he made his name. On Tuesday, none of that could be erased, but coming home also meant saying goodbye. “It was nice, in that sense too,” Marchand said, asked if the night felt like the official close to a chapter in his life. “There was just a lot of that came with coming back — a lot of emotions. It was absolutely an opportunity just to kind of turn the page, for everybody … for [the Bruins], for us ... they are on to new things, too. They have to move on as well, it’s not just me.” That’s just how the business works, Marchand reminded us. “We all have a time,” he added. “And we all … our time comes to an end. It was incredible way to do that, and again I am grateful to the Bruins and what they did tonight.”
