Panthers’ Marchand Scores Emotional Goal Honoring Friend’s Late Daughter—The Story Behind the Shot That Stopped the Game

Sometimes, a goal on the ice is far more than just a point on the scoreboard — it’s a message, a tribute, a moment thick with meaning. That’s exactly what happened Saturday night in Sunrise, Florida, when Brad Marchand found the net for the Panthers and then lifted a finger to the heavens. This wasn’t just any goal. It was dedicated to a little girl named Selah, the 10-year-old daughter of Marchand’s close friend JP MacCallum, who tragically passed away from a rare cancer just days earlier. After stepping away from the game to be with his friend’s family back in Nova Scotia and even coaching a youth team fundraiser in Selah’s honor, Marchand brought that emotion back to the rink — proving that sometimes, hockey really is about more than hockey. The weight of loss, friendship, and the fight to cherish every breath infused every second of that game. It’s these stories — the ones that blend heart with hustle — that remind us why we watch, why we care. LEARN MORE

SUNRISE, Fla. — Brad Marchand put the puck in the back of the net for the Florida Panthers on Saturday night then pointed a finger in the air and looked to the sky.

The reason was obvious.

This goal was for Selah.

Marchand’s sixth goal of this season and the 430th of his career was unlike any other. It came three days after he was home in Nova Scotia paying tribute to the life of 10-year-old Selah Panacci-MacCallum — the daughter of his close friend JP MacCallum. Selah died Oct. 24 of adrenal cortical carcinoma, a rare form of cancer.

“The hockey gods always come through,” Marchand told the Panthers’ broadcast after the second period in an interview aired throughout the arena. “It was a really, really tough week. That’s a special one to get for Selah.”

Marchand missed Florida’s game Tuesday against the visiting Anaheim Ducks to be with his friend’s family in Nova Scotia and did so with the Panthers’ blessing. Marchand filled in for JP MacCallum as the coach of the under-18 March and Mill Co. Hunters in Halifax on Wednesday night; Marchand co-owns that team.

That game Wednesday was a fundraiser for the MacCallum family.

“We fully appreciate the things that are most important, and hockey’s very, very important,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said earlier Saturday. “But there’s some things that just easily outweigh it, and they need to be dealt with. And what he’s going through is real.

“There’s things that just trump the game of hockey.”

Marchand said his bond with JP MacCallum goes back for many years and that he simply had to make the long trip home to pay tribute to Selah.

“She lived life to the fullest,” Marchand said during Saturday’s in-game interview. “And walking away from the week, I have such a new perspective on life and what it all 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 sport. It’s how we live every single day, and she lived to the fullest.

“To carry on her 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.”