Brad Marchand steals a special souvenir in Panthers debut.

It was a monumental moment in the life and career of one Brad Marchand on Friday night when Marchand, for the very first time in his lengthy career in the National Hockey League, hit the ice without the black and gold of the Boston Bruins plastered all over his equipment.

No instead for the very first time Marchand appeared as a member of the Florida Panthers, much to the delight of fans in Florida who immediately gave their former rival a very warm reception.

In spite of the fact that it was no doubt an emotional moment for the former captain of the Boston Bruins, Marchand seemed genuinely enthused at the prospect of playing for a new team for the first time and credited his new teammates in Florida for making him feel welcomed on a new team.

"It’s such an incredible group of guys," said Marchand. "Very welcoming…it’s been a lot of fun so far."

Of course you always hope that your debut is a successful one and that was indeed the case for Marchand on Friday night, thanks in large part to some hard work late in the game from Marchand himself. The former Bruin would set up long time rival Sam Bennett in overtime for what would prove to be the game winning goal, with Marchand feeding Bennett the puck from behind the net.

That would have been enough to make it a memorable debut for Marchand, but the newly minted Panthers forward had one more thing left to do before he left the ice. Marchand would collect a special souvenir following his debut. Fans of the Florida Panthers littered the ice with rats in celebration of their big win and in a fitting gesture for a man that has been labelled a rat by his opponents many times over the years, Marchand collected a few of them to bring home.

Making the moment even more special is the fact that Marchand would go on to reveal that the souvenir was less for himself and more for his young children, who had expressed curiosity at the admittedly unusual form of celebration from fans in Florida.