Patrick Maroon, LW, 31
When we look back at historic moments from the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs then Patrick Maroon’s dramatic double overtime winner against the Dallas Stars in Game 7 of the Second Round will no doubt be a memory we all recall fondly – apart from Stars fans of course.
With his son in tears in the stands after seeing his dad make himself a hometown hero, it was a moment that left all hockey fans wondering who was chopping up onions.
Never gonna forget tonight. #WeAllBleedBlue #stlblues https://t.co/8ACc1SnyAJ
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) May 8, 2019
Maroon took a pay cut in order to return home to play for the Blues and be closer to his son, and it is a move that has paid off handsomely so far given that St. Louis are in reach of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Whatever happens in the coming weeks you get the sense that Maroon will be awarded the pay day he truly deserves, whether that is by St. Louis or another NHL contender looking to add that final piece or two.
The Blues brought Maroon home because they knew he could contribute to a team with ambitions of lifting the Stanley Cup sooner rather than later. Vegas are in the same boat and, although they would have to juggle a lot of moving pieces in order to be able to facilitate such a move, adding Maroon would push them that little bit closer to morphing into a true Stanley Cup contender.
For starters, and like Brian Boyle, Maroon would bring both a wealth of experience and an abundance of grit and brute force to the table for the Golden Knights. He’s dished out 32 hits in the 2018-19 playoffs so far and he could easily become a dependable third line winger, or slot in on the bottom line if Ryan Reaves is indeed traded.
He can also produce offensively too, as shown during his days with the Edmonton Oilers where he put up 72 points in two seasons while mostly playing alongside Connor McDavid.
Maroon tallied 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) in 74 regular season games in 2018-19 for the Blues, and was also a useful weapon on the power play with 11 tucks. He has contributed three goals and two assists for five points in the postseason so far, including two game winning goals.
Bringing Maroon aboard would shore up the bottom of the lineup for the Golden Knights and he would add another commanding voice to the locker room, which could prove crucial if the likes of Deryk Engelland and Cody Eakin depart this offseason.
Maroon would more than likely demand a big pay day, especially if he produces any more Stanley Cup heroics, but if it helps push the Vegas Golden Knights closer to weaving their own postseason magic then it would be a gamble worth paying.