Two years ago in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs hooked up. If there was ever a time for the Maple Leafs to flip the tables on their heated rivals, it was that spring.
One year after Boston blew a 3-1 first-round series to the Florida Panthers in the opening round after setting the record for NHL wins and points in a regular season, the Maple Leafs had the Black and Gold right where they wanted them. They won Games 5 and 6 to force a series-deciding Game 7 at the TD Garden. The Bruins won the game, 2-1, in overtime after rallying from a third-period deficit.
The loss was a tough one for the Maple Leafs to swallow, but what made it even more frustrating was what Brad Marchand said seconds after the series ended. He told the Sportsnet broadcast that Boston had to "just believe'', however, it certainly sounded like he said "be leaf.''
Anyway, whenever he plays in Toronto, he is always booed when he touches the puck. Toronto fans have to know that it doesn't bother Marchand; he loves it. It's not only the fans that Marchand gets under the skin in Toronto, be also got under former coach Sheldon Keefe's skin two years ago during the playoff series.
"You gotta recognize he's a world-class player, both in ability and how he plays, in the gamesmanship and everything," Keefe said.
"He gets calls. It's unbelievable, actually, how it goes. But we gotta play through that, gotta play through that stuff. I don't think there's another player in this series that gets away with taking out [Tyler] Bertuzzi's legs the way that he does. There's not one other player in the series that gets away with that. But he does.
"It's an art, and he's elite at it."
Brad Marchand will always live rent free in the heads to Toronto Maple Leafs fans
At the trade deadline in March of 2025, Boston general manager Don Sweeney traded Marchand to the Florida Panthers in a stunning trade. He went on to play a big role in eliminating the Maple Leafs in the second round on the way to Florida winning its second straight Stanley Cup. Whether it's with Boston or Florida, Toronto fans can't shake Marchand.
In the summer of 2025, some thought that Marchand would consider signing with Toronto in free agency. He didn't and signed to remain the rest of his career with the Panthers. Maple Leafs fans will get to see a lot more of him on the ice, just in a different jersey.
The results of booing him will be the same, and unless something changes, the results will also stay the same. He'll live rent-free in Toronto fans' heads long after he's inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He will always be villain No. 1 in Toronto.
