Brad Marchand emotional in 'touching' return to Boston - ESPN

BOSTON — The Little Ball of Hate still feels a lot of love for Boston.

Brad Marchand struggled to hold back tears on the ice when the TD Garden crowd gave him a standing ovation Tuesday night during his first game back as a Bruins opponent. The 37-year-old forward tapped his heart, wiped his face and waved to the crowd as both teams banged their sticks against the ice and even the referee and linesmen clapped.

«I knew it was going to hit me the way it did. It was extremely touching,» Marchand said after the game, a 4-3 Panthers victory in which he had two assists. «The Bruins will always hold a very, very dear place in my heart.»

The last remaining member of Boston's 2011 Stanley Cup-winning team, Marchand was traded from the noncontending Bruins to the Panthers last season for another chance at a title. He helped Florida complete its pursuit of back-to-back championships, while Boston plummeted to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

«I left and I turned the page and I found something truly special again that I'm very, very proud and blessed to be part of. And I chose to be part of again,» said Marchand, who re-signed with the Panthers in the offseason to a six-year deal worth about $32 million.

«I built something really special with every guy on this team last year, with winning. You build a bond that will last a lifetime. So I try not to show any disrespect in that way, as if I'm not grateful, because I am.

»But I've been here for several months. I've been in Boston for 15 years," he said. «When you go from being a kid, with a dream, and then you grow up and you have a family, you become a man and you build an entire life in a city, it's just different. Of course, it'll always be in my heart and always be a