Sunrise, Florida — brad marchand For this, keep the puck behind the net Florida Panthers On Saturday night again he raised his finger in the air and looked towards the sky.
The reason was clear.
This goal was for Sela.
Marchand’s sixth goal of the season and the 430th of his career was unlike any other. It happened as he was paying tribute to the life of 10-year-old Sela Panachi-McCallum – the daughter of his close friend JP McCallum – at his home in Nova Scotia. Sela died on October 24 from adrenal cortical carcinoma, a rare form of cancer.
“The hockey gods always come through,” Marchand told the Panthers’ broadcast in an interview broadcast across the arena after the second period. “It’s been a really tough week. It’s a special week for Sela.”
Marchand missed Tuesday’s game against visiting Florida anaheim ducks To stay with his friend’s family in Nova Scotia and did so with the blessing of the Panthers. Marchand replaced JP McCallum as coach of the Under-18 Marches and Mill Company Hunters in Halifax on Wednesday night; Marchand is a co-owner of that team.
That game Wednesday was a fundraiser for the McCallum family.
“We fully appreciate the things that are most important and are very important to hockey,” Panthers coach Paul Morrissey said early Saturday. “But there are some things that easily overwhelm him, and he needs to deal with them. And what he’s going through is real.
“There are things that beat the game of hockey.”
Marchand said his relationship with JP McCallum spans many years and he had to make the long trip home just to pay tribute to Sela.
“He lived life to the fullest,” Marchand said during Saturday’s in-game interview. “And moving forward from the week, I have a new perspective on life and what it means and how precious it is and how precious time is. It’s every day. It’s not just a game. It’s not just a game. It’s how we live every day, and she lived it to the fullest.
“To carry on his memory, that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to live every day to the fullest, enjoy it, and we’re not going to take it for granted.”
