The uncomfortable reality of Marchand and Boston being separate entities was inevitable after the team fell short a couple of years ago.

Brad Marchand’s hockey afterlife officially began Tuesday morning on Causeway Street, where he returned to the ice for the first time in more than a week, and for the first as an ex-Bruin.

Brad Marchand stepped back onto the ice at the TD Garden in a Panthers practice jersey as the longtime Bruins player returned to Boston for the first time since he was traded to Florida