Brad Marchand's wife Katrina makes her expectation of reception from Bruins fans known, for his 1st game against former club

Brad Marchand’s wife Katrina made her hopes clear ahead of his first game back in Boston. After spending 16 seasons with the Bruins, Marchand was dealt to the Florida Panthers at last year's trade deadline.

On Tuesday, the Panthers head to Boston, marking his first game against his former team.

Katrina took to Instagram, sharing a quote from Marchand’s Monday interview about facing the Bruins again.

"(The fans) won’t be able to cheer because I know they don’t like the Panthers very much, but maybe they’ll like me enough to give a little ‘Yay’" Marchand said.

Brad Marchand's wife Katrina Marchand IG story - Credit: @ kasloane

Katrina added a playful caption:

“Please, just a couple of yays.”

Marchand was a big part of Florida’s second straight Stanley Cup win last season, tallying 10 goals and 20 points in 23 playoff games. In July, he signed a six-year, $31.5 million extension with the Panthers.

Brad Marchand gets “emotional” returning to Boston

Brad Marchand admitted that coming back to Boston stirred up more emotion than he expected. After the Florida Panthers practiced at TD Garden on Monday, he reflected on how it all hit him the night before.

“It kind of hits you when you’re here a little bit more," Marchand said, per NHL.com. "I haven’t thought about it a ton up until this point. I think that’s probably why I don’t because then I’ll get emotional about it. But it’ll be hard not to. There are too many memories and I was here too long for it not to.”

When asked about what he considered the best part of Boston, Marchand didn’t need time to think.

“The fans, for sure," Marchand said. "Hockey-wise. The city’s incredible, I’ve lived in a bunch of different areas around here and the city’s incredible. But the fans make it awesome.”

Marchand expects to see plenty of familiar faces in the crowd on Tuesday: his family, in-laws, and friends.

He knows the reception will be mixed. Some fans won’t cheer because of his new team, the Florida Panthers, but he hopes a few might still give him a small cheer of appreciation.

He believes there will be a little love in the building if he does something good, though he fully expects the boos to come just as quickly if things go the other way.

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Edited by Brad Taningco