FORT LAUDERDALE — Florida Panthers star forward Brad Marchand will miss the start of the 2026-27 NHL season after undergoing surgery in August to address lingering hip and sports hernia problems, general manager Bill Zito confirmed as players reported to training camp for physicals.
Zito told reporters he expects Marchand back “early in the season” and downplayed concerns about the timeline. “We’re going to be very conservative in bringing him back,” Zito said. “It’s not really a worry or a concern for me.” Marchand is already skating at the team’s Iceplex facility in Fort Lauderdale, where the first day of practice is Thursday morning, Florida Hockey Now reported.
Marchand, who led the Panthers with 23 goals and 55 points going into January, had been dealing with hip and sports hernia concerns since last December. The Panthers limited his action before shutting him down entirely in March, after he represented Team Canada at the Olympics. He previously had hip surgery and a sports hernia procedure while with the Boston Bruins.
Marchand disclosed the surgery in August in a video explaining why he could not participate in former Bruins teammate Zdeno Chara’s “Last Shift” charity game. “I won’t be able to make Z’s game,” Marchand said. “Unfortunately, I had to have a surgery, was trying to fix a problem without surgery, but unfortunately that was unable to happen and had to kind of do it last minute.”
The Panthers open preseason play Sunday against the Carolina Hurricanes at 7 p.m. Florida’s regular-season opener is at Carolina on Sept. 29 at 5 p.m. on ESPN, with the home opener against the Minnesota Wild set for Oct. 10 at 6 p.m. on Scripps.