Brad Marchand returned to TD Garden for the first time as an opponent after being traded and re-signing with the Florida Panthers.
Sixteen years ago to the date, a spry, feisty 21-year-old third-round pick made his NHL Debut for the Boston Bruins in TD Garden.
That Bruin was Brad Marchand.
How fitting it is then, after 16 seasons and 1,090 games donning the Spoked B, that Marchand came home on the very same date for the first time.
The emotions were flowing. During pregame warmups, the growing crowd cheered at any chance. When announced as a starter, the crowd erupted.
When he assisted on a Mackie Samoskevich power play goal (on a penalty Marchand drew) just 61 seconds into the game, the crowd cheered thinking it was Marchand who had tucked it in.
When the PA announced he received the primary assist, the crowd erupted.
Then came time for the tribute video. Get your Kleenex ready.
The ovation would be fitting for a king, and that's exactly what Marchand is to the people of Boston—pure Boston hockey royalty.
Marchand wept openly throughout the tribute, constantly pulling at his heart, signifying the deepness of his connection to this team and this city.
One day, #63 will likely hang from the rafters of TD Garden alongside #33 and #37, possibly even #88 and #46 too.
Still, none of them quite captured the definition of a Bruin quite like Marchand.
October 21. Forever the day Marchand arrived, and now it's forever the day Marchand came back home.