Insider Predicts Brad Marchand's Next Contract Will Come From Bidding War

Brad Marchand has proven that he is still an impact player by what he has done on this playoff run for the Florida Panthers as well as in the Stanley Cup Final. That has only raised his value, regardless of if he's 37 years old.

Chris Johnston sees a bidding war happening for Marchand that could go "north of 8 million" and four years is likely. It's not a stretch to see Marchand play until he's 41 as he is still playing great hockey and trains at a high level every offseason.

Marchand's offensive production only dropped from 0.81 points-per-game to 0.77 points-per-game over the last two seasons and a big part of that was due to the difference in how good the Boston Bruins were. He finished the regular season with four points in 10 games for the Florida Panthers, but once again, Marchand has proven that he's a stellar playoff performer.

Marchand has played in the playoffs for nine consecutive seasons. The last time he finished a playoff run having recorded two or more less points than games played was in 2017. He has finished with over a point-per-game in the playoffs in four of the past eight years as well. The veteran has eight goals and 18 points in 21 games this postseason.

While teams will be willing to pay for Marchand's regular season impact to help them get into the playoffs or finish higher in the standings, playoffs are the real test for many teams and they need a winner and a gamer like Marchand. Some could argue that the addition of Marchand put the Panthers over the top and the reason why they are two wins away from their second consecutive Stanley Cup.

Marchand has been underpaid for too long. He is looking to cash in, but likely won't choose a fringe team or a team unlikely to make the playoffs either. It is going to get interesting if the Panthers aren't able to or don't choose to bring him back after this season.