Brad Marchand’s Hug: A Moment That Changed Everything

Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand had met countless fans throughout his career, but nothing could have prepared him for the encounter that would change his life forever.

It was a cold February evening at TD Garden. The Bruins were warming up before their game against the New York Rangers when Marchand noticed a little girl in the front row, holding up a sign with shaky hands. The words, written in bright yellow marker, read:

“My last wish: A hug from Brad Marchand.”

Marchand skated closer, pressing his glove to the glass, locking eyes with the young fan. She was frail, her bald head covered by a Bruins beanie, her cheeks pale but lit up with excitement. A man, likely her father, stood beside her, gently holding her shoulders.

Curious and deeply moved, Marchand waved for security to let them into the tunnel. Minutes later, the little girl stood before him.

“Hi, Brad,” she said softly.

“Hey there, sweetheart. What’s your name?” he asked, crouching down to her level.

“Emma,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Her father cleared his throat, his eyes red-rimmed. “Emma has been battling leukemia for three years. The doctors… they don’t think she has much time left. This was her dream—to meet you.”

Marchand felt his throat tighten. He had faced countless battles on the ice, but none felt as overwhelming as this moment. He gently pulled Emma into his arms, wrapping her in a warm embrace. She clung to him, as if drawing strength from his presence.

“You’re the real fighter here, Emma,” he whispered.

She giggled softly. “Mom says I’m tough. But I think you’re tougher.”

Marchand chuckled, blinking back tears. “You’re the toughest one in this whole arena.”

Emma smiled up at him. “Promise me something, Brad?”

“Anything.”

“Score a goal for me tonight?”

Marchand nodded, pressing a kiss to the top of her beanie. “You got it.”

The game that night was electric. Marchand skated with a fire in his heart, determined to keep his promise. With just two minutes left in the third period, he broke free from the defense, deked past the goalie, and fired the puck into the back of the net.

He pointed up at the stands, right where Emma had been sitting, and tapped his heart.

But when he looked back, her seat was empty.

Later that night, he received the news. Emma had passed away shortly after his goal, peacefully, surrounded by her family. Her last words?

“Brad did it.”

Tears streamed down Marchand’s face as he read the message from Emma’s father. She had held on just long enough to see her hero keep his promise.

From that day on, Marchand skated with Emma’s name written on his stick. Every goal, every victory—he carried her with him.

Because sometimes, the smallest moments make the biggest impact.

And sometimes, a simple hug can mean everything.

Marchand ‘so grateful’ to represent Canada in 4 Nations Face-Off

Forward thrilled to have family in stands for what could be last chance to wear maple leaf jersey

BOSTON — Brad Marchand doesn’t know if he will make it to the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics. He doesn’t know if he will be playing well enough, if he’ll be selected, if he’ll still be valued by Hockey Canada for all he brings.

Which is one of the reasons why he is embracing the 4 Nations Face-Off with all of his strength and all of his heart.

Marchand never imagined himself here. He barely could see himself making the NHL as a teenager, and even into his 20s, and he certainly couldn’t see himself being elite enough among the legions of Canadian kids with the dreams of wearing the maple leaf to actually be named to a best-on-best international tournament.

He got that, playing with Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins linemate Patrice Bergeron at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, a tournament that vaulted him into the stratosphere. He will get it again this week in Montreal and next in Boston as he plays with Canada again, against the United States, Sweden and Finland, at the 4 Nations.

“I was on the outside looking in to make the team,” Marchand said of the World Cup. “But after that, I assumed that I’d be on Team Canada multiple times, with Olympics and stuff like that and more World Cups. Obviously things got in the way of that possibility.

“This time around, I’m just looking at it as being so grateful. You never know if this is my last time wearing the maple leaf jersey. To be able to have my family and my kids, my siblings and grandparents [watching], it’s going to mean so much more.”

Complete coverage of 4 Nations Face-Off

Canada, Finland, Sweden, United States go head-to-head Feb. 12-20 in Montreal, Boston

Marchand became a star in the World Cup, leading the tournament with five goals (plus three assists), including the shorthanded game-winner with 44 seconds left in the final against Team Europe.

He returned to the NHL on a tear. That included four straight seasons of at least 84 points, including 100 in 2018-19, when the Bruins reached the Stanley Cup Final for the third time in Marchand’s tenure.

It was the highest point of his career, personally, the most successful, the most confident.

And it all started at the World Cup, with Canada.

This time, he will bring his family to Montreal, an effort to allow them to be part of it all, with his three children and his wife, his parents and his siblings, all convening. He wants his kids to have memories of all of this, before it’s gone.

“One of the reasons I want to play as long as I can is because I want my kids to be able experience coming to games, coming to the rink, coming to the rink,” Marchand said,”hopefully seeing us win a Cup, this 4 Nations tournament and hopefully the Olympics next year. They’re experiences that are for me, but also those are things that I could not have ever imagined growing up witnessing and being a part of.

“I don’t want to let it go. I want them to be able to enjoy it. … It all means more [with them]. When you’re young and you’re just playing for yourself and trying to stay in the League and playing for another contract, you don’t understand the true value of our situation till you kind of go through it.”

Bruins teammates McAvoy, Marchand and USA vs. Canada

It’s a ride Marchand wants to continue, through this season with the Bruins, through to next season and the Olympics.

That would be the dream.

“[Milano-Cortina] is the last time I think that I’ll have that opportunity to be in the Olympics,” he said. “I think that’s the ultimate level you can get to, it’s the best of the best. It’s like this tournament, but it’s not. Nothing replaces the Olympics. It’s at a whole different level and at the end of the day, it still means more. It’s a level I never ever expected to be at in my wildest dreams.”

He will be 37. Does he think he can make it?

“It would be an incredible honor to be part of that,” he said. “It’s something I’ve aimed for for a long time, for probably over a decade now. Do I think it’s realistic? I think anything is possible. It’s what you set your mind to.”

It was why Marchand had surgery three times last summer, to give him the best chance of playing for Canada in the Olympics for the first time.

“I feel like I’ve been handcuffed a little bit this year because of the surgeries I had last year,” he said, “but the reason that I had them last year is because I didn’t want to have them going into the summer of the Olympics, so that I can train and have a complete summer of training and I wouldn’t be behind. So that was a big part of why I had them last year.

“I thought there was enough time to get back and get in shape for the [4 Nations]. I know that my season hasn’t been to the level that I would like it to be. But I started earlier than I should have. I should have taken another month to get ready but I knew that I would prefer to play bad in the first 10 games instead of not playing at all. because then I’d play bad the next 10 games. So I figured I’d try to get my conditioning back while I was playing would be the best way to get back to speed.”

This season, Marchand has 44 points (20 goals, 24 assists) in 57 games. This marks his 14th season in the NHL with at least 20 goals and 12th consecutive, having missed the mark by two in the strike-shortened 2012-13 season.

Marchand has the Stanley Cup, the All-Star Games. He has passed the 1,000-game mark in the NHL and is 27 points from 1,000 for his career, sitting at 973 (421 goals, 552 assists) in 1,086 games, plus 1,111 penalty minutes.

The Olympics is the void.

The NHL didn’t send players to the Olympics in 2018 and 2022, so he’s never had the chance to play for his country on the biggest international stage.

“It’s the one thing I’m missing, for sure,” he said. “The Olympics, it’s the biggest thing you can have as an individual accolade. Stanley Cup is more team oriented. And going to the Olympics is the highest accolade you can have as an individual.

“In my view, playing for Canada as a Canadian kid, there’s nothing better. So there’s a tremendous amount of pride with that. Playing in the NHL is a dream and then the Olympics is something you don’t even think about, it’s not attainable.”

But first is the 4 Nations.

Like so many, Marchand is hoping Canada coach Jon Cooper will put the Nova Scotia players together, hoping he’d get to play with Crosby and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, though Crosby’s status is up in the air with an upper-body injury. The trio have long practiced together in the offseason.

But Marchand isn’t picky.

“I’m just so thrilled to be part of the team,” he said. “I don’t care if I fill water bottles the whole tournament. I’m just happy to be there. Especially with those two guys where we have a different bond and it’s a different storyline. But I couldn’t care less who I play with. Every player on that team is a star, in their own way.”

In Boston, it has not been an easy season for Marchand, for the Bruins. They are not assured to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs, sitting outside the playoff structure as the 4 Nations break hits. There is good news for Boston, hopeful defenseman Hampus Lindholm — an underrated loss on its blue line — will return for the Bruins’ next game, on Feb. 22 against his old team, the Anaheim Ducks.

As Marchand sits, talking, it is exactly one month from the NHL Trade Deadline, set for March 7.

Is there a chance he won’t be with Boston, his only team, after that date passes?

“I don’t think so, but I don’t have all of the answers,” he said. “I don’t think so. I believe that we have a group capable of doing more than what we’ve done. And I believe that they feel the same way.”

He doesn’t get caught up in the chatter. He can’t.

“We’re not in control of them,” said Marchand, who added that he has a close relationship with Bruins management, going back to when general manager Don Sweeney was in player development and Marchand was a prospect. “At the end of the day, if they wanted to trade me, that’s obviously well within their right. But I feel like that’s something that we would have a conversation about. I don’t think that’s something they would just do on a whim.”

For now, though, Marchand gets to forget about any of the disappointments — and opportunities — ahead for him in Boston. He gets to head to Montreal, family in tow, to play for his country, to wear the maple leaf, to get to do something he never really thought he would do.

And if next year at this time, he’s doing it again? Well, then so much the better.

This week, he will focus on what he has.

“For me, it’s just appreciating how unique the opportunity is and how rare it can be to wear the jersey,” he said. “You just never know if it’s going to happen again, so you’ve got to make the most of it.”