NHL players past and present react to shocking Brad Marchand trade.

The Boston Bruins shocked many on Friday when they made the decision to trade longtime Bruins forward and team captain Brad Marchand to a divisional rival in the Florida Panthers.

It is a move that will no doubt have long term ramifications for both the player and the organization and unsurprisingly it is also a move that has provoked a reaction from just about every corner of the hockey community that you could imagine. While I must say that the reactions have varied wildly, the majority of those who reacted to the news appeared to view it through a lens that is rather unfavorable for the front office of the Boston Bruins.

Bruins general manager Don Sweeney and team president Cam Neely have caught most of the criticism in that regard, like these rather harsh comments from former National Hockey League defenseman Ryan Whitney.

"I realistically think Don Sweeney might go down as the most disliked GM of any Boston sports team ever," said Whitney during his trade deadline coverage. "I can't believe that the Bruins traded him to someone in their division."

Former Boston Bruins goaltender Andrew Raycroft also appeared stunned by the move albeit for a different reason, reacting to the poor return he feels the Bruins received in the deal. Raycroft felt that the Bruins should have only made the move in the event that they received a better offer.

"Not only would it be bigger but the Bruins wouldn't do it unless they got a huge haul," said Raycroft on Saturday morning.

Like Whitney, the former Bruins netminder also seemed to be stunned at the fact that the Bruins made the deal with such a fierce rival inside their own division.

"It's Florida and it's kind of not for a lot," lamented Raycroft.

Raycroft did give the Bruins a possible out for all of this however, suggesting that perhaps Marchand's injury played a significant factor.

"Maybe the injury is worse than we think and maybe he is unsure of if he's going to be back and ready in 5 weeks," suggested Raycroft.

Not everyone was outwardly unhappy with the deal of course including former Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask who would only wish Marchand well on his chase for another Stanley Cup.

"I have no comments, really," said Rask when asked about the trade. "Good for him. Hope they win it."

Marchand's former Bruins teammate A.J. Greer is certainly happy with the trade seeing as it will now reunite him with Marchand on the Panthers.

"Great player and brings out the best in everyone every day… he’s a competitor… he will compliment this group well…one of my good friends and can’t wait to hug him," said Greer of being reunited with Marchand.

Marchand's new teammate in Aleksander Barkov was quick to point out just how big of a move this was for the Florida Panthers on the other side of the coin.

"Obviously, bringing guy like him in is not an everyday thing," said Barkov of the stunning trade. "We’re really excited to have him here, and obviously can't wait to see him on the ice playing for us and not against us."

This is one trade that we will be talking about and reacting to it for perhaps years to come.