Brad Marchand's Florida Panthers Debut Date Hinted at By Head Coach Paul Maurice

The Florida Panthers made a huge splash at the trade deadline when they acquired Brad Marchand from the Boston Bruins, but the former captain has yet to make his debut with the team.

That, along with the injury to Matthew Tkachuk has been a cause of concern for the team thus far, but now, it appears the debut of one of the clubs former biggest rivals is now on the horizon.

According to Head Coach Paul Maurice, the organization are targeting Friday's matchup with the Utah Hockey Club for Marchand's franchise debut, and while there's still no guarantees, this would give him a few games to get acquainted in the lineup before the Stanley Cup Playoffs roll around.

On Wednesday during the team skate, Marchand skated alongside standout rookie Mackie Samoskevich and the spot that Sam Bennett would be in, suggesting that when everyone is healthy, that could be an absolutely brutal line of Tkachuk-Bennett-Marchand, which could be one of the best lines in the entire NHL if everyone is at 100%.

There's plenty of competition in the Eastern Conference, but after back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals appearances and a loaded team, with the addition of Marchand many teams still believe that the Panthers are the heavy favourite in the East at this point in time.

For now, we simply await the debut of Marchand, and if he can click the way the team are hoping, there's no doubt that once again the Stanley Cup Finals could run through Sunrise, Florida.