Before Noel Acciari signed a three-year deal with the Florida Panthers as an unrestricted free agent, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney described the relentless forward perfectly.

“You’re never going to question his courage, for sure,” Sweeney said. “He puts it all on the line and plays with his nose over the top of the puck and not everybody does that.”

The Bruins were hoping the Johnston, R.I., native would re-sign in Boston and anchor the bottom six with his gritty play, but Acciari decided to sign with the Panthers for $1.6 million per season, more than the Bruins offered.

After winning a national championship as team captain at Providence College in 2015, Acciari joined the Bruins as an undrafted free agent. He spent four seasons here, helping Boston reach the Stanley Cup final this year. In fact, he played three playoff rounds with a broken sternum. His leadership qualities, both on and off the ice, earned him the respect of his teammates and opponents throughout the league.

Now, he’s taking his talents to Sunrise, Fla. In an interview with The Athletic, Acciari made a point of thanking the Bruins and Boston fans for their continued support.

If you had the opportunity to speak with Bruins fans, what would you tell them?

I would thank them for everything and all the support they’ve given me. There are no fans like Boston fans. Even now I’m getting (fans) wishing that I would be back but they still support me with my decision. I’m truly honored to play in front of them for four years. It was a special bond between the team and the fans.

There are a lot of connections between the Bruins and Panthers with Frank Vatrano playing in Florida and Shawn Thornton now working in the front office. How did they influence you with your decision?

Oh, big time. Frankie called me and told me all about the great things Florida is doing and how fun it is down there and how close of a team they are. Now with the rebuilding that they’ve done it’s going to be fun the next couple of years. Since signing, Shawn has been unbelievable with whatever I’ve needed, whether it’s housing or cars. He has made the transition a lot easier, because the one thing he told me was, “I know how hard it is to leave Boston, but you’re going to love it down in Florida. I’ve done it and I know how it is.”

You’ve played your entire career in New England. What do you think it’s going to be like playing for a team outside this region?

Different. But I’m very excited for this next opportunity with Florida. We’re going to have a really good team with coach Q (Joel Quenneville) and all these other moving pieces that are coming in. I’m excited to carry over what I’ve learned from the leadership in Boston, from (Patrice) Bergeron, (Zdeno) Chara, (Brad) Marchand, (David) Krejci, (David) Backes.

What type of conversations have you had with Quenneville this summer?

We’ve talked a little bit. He’s won three Stanley Cups with Chicago and he knows what it takes to win, and he just kind of picked my brain a little bit about Boston and how we can transition some of that leadership that I was just talking about to Florida. I’m more of an older guy now (at age 27) with this team, so maybe I can help out. Basically, it will be similar to what I did in Boston where our line handled more responsibility and gave Bergy, Marchy and Pasta (David Pastrnak) an extra couple of minutes off the ice. They want to do the same with me in Florida and maybe give (Aleksander) Barkov and (Jonathan) Huberdeau and those other guys a few minutes more off the ice, help them in the long run.

Speaking of coaches, you spent your entire pro career with Bruce Cassidy as a coach in Providence and Boston. What was it like learning from him?

Great. He’s taught me ever since I’ve been in the league what you need to do to succeed and how to stay there. Once you get there it’s hard to stay. He’s done a great job bringing in the younger guys and helping them along. (Boston) has a great coaching staff and they’re going to continue to be successful with all the young guys they have coming.

Let’s rewind for a second. It’s an interesting story how you originally became a Bruin, the night you won the national championship with the Friars at TD Garden. How did it all come together?

It was a special night. Winning a national championship, the adrenaline’s high, emotions are high and I had another year of eligibility in Providence. But just talking with (Bruins assistant GM John Ferguson) and having him, as a PC alum, congratulating me and saying, “The Boston Bruins organization wants you” … the idea of having the option to play for Boston was right there in front of me. It was so exciting to hear him say, “We want you.”

What’s it been like to reflect on your career playing for the hometown team in Boston?

It was special. Not many people can say they played for their hometown team, and I was very fortunate. Boston and New England will always be my home and will always have a special spot in my heart. But, all good things come to an end and things happen for a reason. I couldn’t be happier to be moving to Florida and continuing my career and helping another organization grow into a playoff contender.

You’ve always played with that willingness to sacrifice your body and because of that you’ve missed significant time. Any regrets playing that style?

Absolutely not. Playing that style of game got me to where I am right now. The team respects you for what you do and I think the Bruins respected me and what I brought to the table and how I played every night. I wanted to give everything I had for them — the team, the organization and the city of Boston. Honestly, I would do anything for any teammate. That’s my mentality and it’s not going to change when I go down to Florida.

Because of that style of play, how long do you envision yourself playing at this level?

It’s tough to say and I don’t want to put a timetable on my career, but I want to play as long as I physically can. You’ve got to make sure your body is able to do that, and I do play a hard, heavy game. But that falls on me that each year I’m taking the right amount of time off and healing up so that I can play a lengthy season and be healthy. Last year was the healthiest season I’ve had. Yeah, I had bumps and bruises but it was stuff I could play through. I don’t plan on ending any time soon.

Speaking of injuries, you played three rounds of the playoffs with a broken sternum. How is that even possible?

Yeah, it was painful, but you’re in the Stanley Cup playoffs. It definitely hurt after Game 7 a lot more than it probably would’ve if we had won the game. Most people would do anything to play in the Stanley Cup final and you don’t want to miss that opportunity. If you can play with an injury, you’re definitely going to battle through it the best you can and be the most productive as you can out there. You see the toughness of Bergy, or (Chara) with the broken jaw, and those guys are your leaders and you follow what they’re doing. If you can play, you want to help out the team as best as you can.

Lastly, what sweater number are you going to wear for the Panthers?

I’m sticking with No. 55.

(Photo of Acciari: James Guillory / USA Today)