Pat Maroon is finally laying low.
Or drying out, more accurately. The veteran winger, who won the Stanley Cup in back to back years, returned to St. Louis this week after relishing an epic celebration with his Lightning teammates in Tampa. There was the boozy boat parade on Tampa’s waterside, his shirtless appearance at the Raymond James Stadium rally chanting “back to back!” (which is now becoming a clothing line). There were team dinners and golf outings, with Alex Killorn losing a bet to Maroon and ending up in a pond.
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It’s been a month the 32-year-old will never forget.
“I’m honestly so happy for those guys that have been there for a long time,” Maroon said in a phone call this week. “They had been there for so many years, to see those guys celebrate like that, they deserve it. It’s been a wild ride. They deserve to celebrate for as long as they want. I’m happy Tampa Bay got the Cup back in the bay. And I’m glad I got to be part of it.”
The big question is, where will Maroon start his quest for a three-peat? He will be an unrestricted free agent Friday, and while the Lightning have expressed interest in bringing him back, they’ve got to get through their cap hell first. He’s enjoyed the past few days with fiancee Francesca and his 12-year-old son Anthony, going to a few of his hockey games. It was tough for Maroon to be away from his family for so long — 75 days — but now he’s got to figure out where they’re going next.
It was stunning when Maroon, coming off a Cup win with his hometown Blues, had to wait until late August last year to find a home in a one-year, $900,000 deal with Tampa Bay. It worked out perfectly. But you’d like to think that, even with the cap uncertainty across the league, there would be interest in Maroon, who has had a significant impact on the last two Cup winners. He’s one of three players in the expansion era (and eight overall) to win a Cup in back to back years with different teams.
Maroon could, however, be headed for his sixth team in the last six years.
“I’m excited, I can’t wait,” Maroon said. “I think it’s going to be a better free agency for me this year. I’m trying not to think about it. I’m 32 years old, a veteran player. I know what it takes to win now. I know what my role is every single day, I know what I bring to the table. I hope teams realize that and value that. I’m excited because I think I can help out all 31 teams this week.”
You have teams like the Leafs wanting to be “harder to play against” and many others looking for veteran experience in their bottom six; Evolving Hockey’s contract projections has a one-year deal for Maroon at around $1.5 million AAV. There’s no question Maroon had his fingerprints on the Lightning’s run to the Cup. His numbers won’t pop off the page (nine goals, 14 assists, 64 games), and he averaged his lowest ice time in five years (12:25). But the Lightning entered last year knowing they needed some new voices in the dressing room, experienced leaders who could help a team that had just come off a historic early exit against Columbus.
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It was Maroon, along with Kevin Shattenkirk, who recognized early in the season that their teammates were still “living in the past,” hurting from last season. They helped the group move forward, “F– last year,” Maroon would say. And it was Maroon who, by the first month of the season, was “driving the bus” off the ice in getting the team together, especially during their galvanizing November trip to Sweden.
Many players consider their nights out in Stockholm, and sweep of the Sabres, a turning point in their Cup season.
“You get together and to know people’s culture, understand their language,” Maroon said. “And to be honest, after a few beers, different personalities come out. It was good to see everyone get tighter. Sweden by far was the turning point. Just hanging out with each other, going to dinners together, going for beers as a team, that goes a long way. Not just one person, all 25 of us. That can turn a season around, I truly believe, when guys get together and make sure everyone feels welcome, no one is left out.”
How did it turn the season?
“It was the more you feel comfortable having a voice in the room, some guys didn’t feel comfortable talking during intermission or showing their personality and joking around with the team. In the beginning, they might not have felt comfortable to say a joke, but I feel the guys did a really good job of bringing guys together and making them feel comfortable coming out of their shell. Having a voice in the locker room goes a long way,” he said.
One prime example was Nikita Kucherov. The Hart Trophy winner sat next to Maroon in their dressing room at Amalie Arena, so they got to know each other well. Most of you have seen Kucherov’s personality come out in the Lightning’s celebration, from hugging owner Jeff Vinik and pouring Bud Light into his mouth, to the beaming smile he had holding the Cup. The star winger actually opened up behind the scenes during the season, especially in the playoffs, where he’d talk to the team in the room and on the bench.
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The engaged and matured play by Kucherov is a key reason why the Lightning won the Cup. And Kucherov, who got suspended during last year’s playoffs and benched earlier this year, was a fitting face for Tampa Bay’s ultimate redemption story.
“To see him have a voice in the locker room, to hear him talk to guys and making sure we’re doing the right thing, once he started, guys were following – the same with Brayden Point,” Maroon said. “People misunderstand Kuch a lot. He wants to win every single night, he’s a gamer every single night. And he takes the frustration out on himself, not meaning to take it out on his teammates. You just have to understand Kuch.
“We started to understand, and we got to know him a little more, he started to use his voice and it carried in the locker room. His play carried. The little things he was doing, people were following. He was driving the bus of our locker room, him and Victor Hedman did an amazing job.”
There were many leaders on the Lightning, from captain Steven Stamkos to Hedman to Ryan McDonagh and Killorn. But Maroon, who was the only Cup winner in the room, provided plenty of perspective during the season. He kept the team light, too, with coach Jon Cooper calling him a “character with character.”
I’ve spoken to several former teammates about Maroon, from Ryan O’Reilly to Cory Schneider, and they’ve raved on not only his presence and hands on the ice, but how he’d always pick the right spots to say something. But you don’t appreciate it until you see it up close every day.
“He has such a bubbly personality,” Stamkos said. “He’s a funny guy. And the thing I’ve noticed the most is how inclusive he is with everyone, how we want to do it together as a team. That’s been huge for our leadership group. Sometimes he’ll give perspective on how the team in St. Louis last year came together at the right time. He’s been a big part of everything we do as a team, whether it’s going to dinner or for a few beers or just to hang out.
“He’s been driving the bus in terms of wanting everyone together.”
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Maroon lauded Stamkos’ leadership behind the scenes while he was injured, playing in just one inspirational game (scoring a goal on first shot in Game 3 of the Cup Final). Maroon recalled how Stamkos wrote a message on a dry erase board before they won Game 6 against the Islanders in OT, clinching the Eastern Conference title. Then came Stamkos’ speech after his triumphant return, “This is the fucking group, and I’ve fucking got a great feeling, so let’s fucking do this.”
“He contributed in so many ways, he’s got no idea,” Maroon said. “He should be proud of himself.”
So should Maroon. He said it’s hard to compare the two Stanley Cups he’s won, with the first coming with his hometown Blues, capping off a season where they went from worst to first. Families could be part of that run and celebration. This time, he was away from his family, including his mother Patti, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in February. Maroon is happy to report she’s now cancer free.
“We’ll just keep praying every single day,” Maroon said. “She’s doing great for now.”
Maroon thinks back to late last summer, when Cooper and the Lightning called about bringing him in. It had been a frustrating two months, with the uncertainty and not getting the offers he was expecting. He knew Cooper well, with the two having won an NAHL championship together. Maroon was the star on that team but has said if Cooper hadn’t given him a shot, he doesn’t know where he would have ended up.
Cooper said the same, that it was the tradition of winning (and that was his first title), that helped get him an NHL job. They’ll always remember that championship run in 2007, with the final in Alaska. After the Bandits lost a game in the round robin, owner Kelly Chase went up to Maroon, the league MVP.
“We got pounded by this team and we were playing them again the next day in the final,” Chase said. “(Maroon) is like, ‘Don’t worry, Mr. Chase, I didn’t come all the way to Alaska to (f—ing) lose.’
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“We were up 5-1 in the first period and Pat was in on every goal.”
Maroon wasn’t the star on this Lightning team, but he played the kind of glue-guy role that every club needs. And he credited Cooper with bringing the team together.
“He handles himself really well in certain situations through the bubble, he knew how he wanted his guys to play,” Maroon said. “He knew what he wanted and molded it into our head, ‘We’re not going to leave the bubble without the Stanley Cup.’ He’s always been a winner, he has that swagger to him, that’s contagious to his players. He deserves this. I’m glad I had another chance to play with him.”
Maroon said it’s hard to reflect now on his improbable past two years. “I’ll sit back one day and talk about it with my kids and my future kids,” he said. “It was amazing to be with those guys and drink out of another Cup. I’ll remember that for the rest of my life.”
As for what’s next, Maroon can’t wait to find out. He can’t complain with how the last two teams worked out.
“Last summer was a complete surprise, but it turned out well,” Maroon said. “You can’t really look back on life, and say, ‘Shit, I wish that could have happened. I wish I could have got a multi-year deal.’ You know what? I’ve been blessed the last two years to be on such good hockey teams that really wanted me and believed in me, two GMs, two coaches that believed in me. I will never regret anything I’ve done in the NHL. And I’m really looking forward to free agency.
“I know I can help. I know I can play. I hope teams see it. I’m going to try to play until they kick me out.”
(Photo: Chase Agnello-Dean / NHLI via Getty Images)
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