Florida Panthers forward Brad Marchand is no stranger to getting under the skin of his opponents, and his latest comments on Ottawa Senators forward Tim Stutzle have added another layer of animosity between both clubs ahead of the 2026-27 season.
Brad Marchand might no longer be one of the top players in the NHL. But when it comes to trolling, there's really no one like him.
On Wednesday, the shift-disturbing winger was at his antagonistic best when he weighed in on the Ottawa Senators' captaincy question, by replying to a social media post suggesting that the "Big Three of Thomas Chabot, Tim Stutzle and Jake Sanderson are believed to be finalists" to wear the 'C'.
"hahahah … stutzle … hahaha," Marchand tweeted on X.
Call it juvenile or something out of Donald Trump's meme-driven playbook, but this was Marchand being Marchand. He is a pest. He always has been and he always will be.
It's why we love (to hate) him.
Back in 2019, while Mitch Marner was piling up points in a contract year, Marchand trolled the cap-strapped Toronto Maple Leafs when he tweeted "I cant wait to see this kids new deal... 12m AAV?? It better be #MarnerWatch"
"Oh man,” then-GM Kyle Dubas said at the time. “I think it was a master troll job to say the least. You have to respect that element of it.”
This summer, Marchand also poked fun at William Nylander after the NHL's instagram account posted a shirtless photo of the Leafs winger working out, writing: "Don't hurt yourself with all that weight Willy."
In other words, it's all fun and games. That is, as long as you're not on the receiving end of Marchand's tongue-lashing — or licks.
We'll see how much Stutzle appreciated this latest chirp, or what the repercussions will be like when former Senators captain Brady Tkachuk returns to Ottawa on Oct. 21. Marchand, who had surgery recently, likely won't be back for that game. But Tkachuk should be, and will likely have to answer for his teammate's tweet.
Not that the Ottawa-Florida rivalry needed any more fireworks.
With the way that Tkachuk orchestrated his exit, Senators fans — and players — and more than enough reasons not to like the Florida Panthers. All that Marchand did was add fuel to the fire, while also raising the possibility that Tkachuk may have been also bad-mouthing his former teammates to Marchand.
Either that or Marchand simply does not believe that Stutzle, who has a reputation for embellishing penalties, is a poor choice as a leader.
Regardless, Marchand has found a new target. While he typically reserved his best chirps for the Maple Leafs — especially during the days when Toronto and Boston were meeting in the first round of practically every post-season — now that he's in Florida it appears that Ottawa is his new favorite punching bag, even more so because of Tkachuk.
As for Marchand, maybe think twice about accusing Stutzle of being a poor choice for captain.
After all, it was Marchand who as captain of the Bruins abandoned his team at the 2024 trade deadline to go to Florida in pursuit of a Stanley Cup. That's not exactly the definition of being a leader.
Maybe that's something Stutzle can keep in mind the next time he plays against Marchand and the Panthers.
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