Pat Maroon To Retire After The Season
Blackhawks winger Pat Maroon is in his 14th NHL season but there won’t be a 15th. The veteran revealed to CHSN during today’s pregame show (Twitter link) that he plans to retire at the end of the season, citing a desire to start a new chapter with his family.
Maroon is in his first season with Chicago after signing a one-year, $1.3MM contract with them in free agency last summer. He was brought in to play a mentoring role while taking a regular shift on the fourth line and has done just that, getting into 59 games this season where he has 16 points, 95 hits, and 81 penalty minutes in 11:37 of playing time per outing.
It felt like the 36-year-old was going to be a candidate to be moved at the trade deadline earlier this month to a team looking to add some extra depth and experience for the stretch run. However, he indicated to the team last month that his preference was to remain with Chicago rather than be on the move for the second straight deadline.
Maroon was a sixth-round pick by Philadelphia back in 2006, going 171st overall. He spent parts of four seasons in their farm system but never got a chance to play with the Flyers, eventually being traded to Anaheim in 2010.
While Maroon saw a bit of NHL action with the Ducks after the move, it took until the 2013-14 campaign for him to become a regular player for them at the age of 25. He wound up spending parts of five years with them before he was traded to Edmonton at the 2016 deadline. With the Oilers is where he had his best success offensively, notching 86 points in 154 games over parts of three years before being moved to New Jersey at the 2018 trade deadline.
Maroon then signed with St. Louis the following summer, winning a Stanley Cup with them in 2019 before moving on to Tampa Bay where he won two more in consecutive seasons. Along the way, he went from being more of a second-line option as he was with Edmonton to more of an energetic bottom-six piece, one that spent parts of four years with the Lightning before being picked up at the deadline by Boston last season.
All told, Maroon has 125 goals and 195 assists along with 1,583 hits and 1,071 penalty minutes in 839 regular season games across eight different organizations heading into today’s action. He also has suited up in 163 postseason contests, in the top 75 in NHL history in that regard where he has 53 points and those three Stanley Cup rings. While Maroon has a few more weeks to add to those regular season numbers, it has certainly been a very solid career for someone who wound up being a late bloomer after working his way up from a long stint in the minors.
Photo courtesy of Perry Nelson-Imagn Images.
Sharks Notes: Eklund, Vlasic, Thrun, Lund, Wennberg
Sharks forward William Eklund has had discussions about playing for Sweden in the upcoming World Championship in his native Sweden, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. The 22-year-old is having the best season of his young career with 15 goals and 35 assists through 64 games, good for a share for first in team scoring with Macklin Celebrini. That should have him in line to play a prominent role for his country with several of Sweden’s top players expected to be unavailable due to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Elsewhere in San Jose:
- Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic is expected to get more imaging done soon on the upper-body injury that is plaguing him once again, Pashelka relays in the same column. The veteran is dealing with a recurrence of the injury that kept him out in the first half of the campaign. Vlasic has played in just 17 games this season where he has two assists and 29 blocks in 15:28 of ice time per game, which is the second-lowest average of his career. Head coach David Warsofsky indicated that it’s too early to know if this injury will be a season-ender for the 37-year-old.
- Pashelka also mentions that blueliner Henry Thrun is expected to return to practice on Monday. He was initially listed as week-to-week after suffering an upper-body injury on March 8th. Through 52 games this season, the 24-year-old has a goal and nine assists in just under 17 minutes of playing time.
- While recently signed forward Cameron Lund is burning the first year of his entry-level contract this season, he’s not expected to report to the team for a few more days, Pashelka reports (Twitter link). Lund had 40 points in 37 games at Northeastern this season and should get into at least a few games down the stretch.
- Center Alexander Wennberg should suit up tonight against Boston, reports Max Miller of The Hockey News (Twitter link). He has been dealing with a lingering lower-body issue lately although it hasn’t caused him to miss any time recently. Wennberg has eight goals and 23 assists through 64 appearances in his first season with the Sharks while logging over 18 minutes a night of action.
Canadiens Notes: Armia, Savard, Dvorak, Guhle
In an interview with Pierre LeBrun for The Athletic (subscription link), Canadiens GM Kent Hughes acknowledged that he was initially approaching the trade deadline as if they’d be selling. But the team went on a run after the 4 Nations break, resulting in a change of plan. In doing so, he noted that he started to move the goalposts on his asking price for winger Joel Armia, his most notable pending unrestricted free agent. Hughes admitted that while he wouldn’t say a flat-out no to acquiring teams, he readily stated that it would take a big overpayment to get him. Earlier this month, it was reported that the Canadiens had a second-round pick on the table for Armia but clearly, the adjusted asking price came in higher than that.
More from Montreal:
- Also from that interview, Hughes stated that he went into the deadline not expecting to move center Christian Dvorak or defenseman David Savard. He noted that with mid-round picks being the potential return for each of them, it wasn’t worth doing to add those while weakening their farm team in Laval which has been in a close battle for first in the AHL in recent weeks. Also, with one of the deeper prospect pools in the league and with 21 selections over the next two drafts, there wasn’t as much of a need to add extra picks to the cupboard. Both Dvorak and Savard are slated to be unrestricted free agents this summer and are likely facing pay cuts from their cap charges of $4.45MM and $3.5MM respectively.
- Defenseman Kaiden Guhle took part in today’s morning skate in a non-contact jersey, relays TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). The 23-year-old is working his way back after suffering a lacerated quad tendon in late January. He’s still likely a little while away from returning to the lineup but if Montreal can hang around the playoff picture a bit longer, they could get a nice boost to their back end for the late push with Guhle being a big part of their top four, logging more than 21 minutes a night before being injured.
Metropolitan Notes: Palat, Greaves, Aho
Devils winger Ondrej Palat didn’t take part in the morning skate today, making it unlikely that he’ll suit up tonight against Ottawa. He was previously listed as questionable after missing Thursday’s game with an undisclosed injury. However, as team reporter Amanda Stein relays (Twitter link), the 33-year-old took to the ice after the morning skate which suggests he’s probably not too far off from being able to return. It hasn’t been a great year for Palat as he has just 13 goals and 12 assists through 67 games while his playing time has dipped under 14 minutes a night for the first time since his first taste of NHL action back in 2012-13. But with New Jersey dealing with a long list of injuries, they’ll certainly be hoping that Palat’s absence is a short one.
More from the Metropolitan:
- After being recalled yesterday to serve as the backup goalie in Daniil Tarasov’s absence, the Blue Jackets announced that goaltender Jet Greaves has been returned to AHL Cleveland. The 23-year-old has been up and down several times this season and has gotten into six games with Columbus where he has a 2.83 GAA with a .905 SV%. Greaves has spent most of the year with the Monsters, putting up a 2.84 GAA and a .915 SV% in 34 appearances and will go from one team in a push for a Wild Card spot to another in the battle for the final spots in the AHL’s North Division playoffs.
- The Penguins announced (Twitter link) that they’ve returned defenseman Sebastian Aho to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The 29-year-old has been up and down in recent days on emergency recall but it appears he’ll now go back to an extended stay in the minors. Aho is in his first season in Pittsburgh’s organization but injuries have limited him to just 17 outings in the AHL where he has seven assists.
Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag
It has been a busy last month or so around the hockey world. The 4 Nations Face-Off came and went with plenty of success while the trade deadline featured several swaps of note with some teams willing to significantly shake up their rosters. Now, the stretch run is upon us with several close battles shaping up for a playoff spot.
With all that in mind, it’s a good time to open up the mailbag once again. Our last call for questions yielded enough for three separate columns. The first focused primarily on the 4 Nations tournament as well as Kevyn Adams’ future as the GM in Buffalo. Among the topics in the second were offer sheets and plenty of trade deadline talk. Meanwhile, the third included a discussion on Chicago’s goaltending situation (which has since been simplified a bit), the old Tagging Rule, and more.
You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter/X or by leaving a comment down below. The mailbag will run on the weekend.
Snapshots: Hurricanes, Askarov, Soderblom, Greentree, Francis
It appears that the Hurricanes will get some help on the injury front as they begin a three-game road trip on Thursday in San Jose. Team reporter Walt Ruff mentions (Twitter link) that defenseman Dmitry Orlov should be ready to return after missing the last two weeks with an upper-body injury. The 33-year-old has four goals and 20 assists in 62 games this season while logging a little under 20 minutes a night.
Meanwhile, the news isn’t as good for winger Andrei Svechnikov. Ruff added that it wasn’t initially known if the 24-year-old would be accompanying the team on the trip. Last week, the hope was that Svechnikov would be back for the Hurricanes sometime this week but that appears to be more in question now. He has 18 goals and 25 assists in 63 outings this season.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov is hoping to be cleared to skate with the AHL’s Barracuda next week as he works his way back from a lower-body injury, relays Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link). The 22-year-old has a 3.10 GAA and a .896 SV% in 13 games with the Sharks this season and is likely to be recalled at some point down the stretch to get a few more games in with the big club.
- It has been a rough go as of late for Blackhawks goaltender Arvid Soderblom. He has won just one of his last ten games while posting a SV% of just .881, 20 points below his mark for the season at .901. Despite that, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times notes that at the moment, the team is still operating under the plan that he’ll serve as Spencer Knight’s backup for next season. Soderblom will be owed a $1MM qualifying offer this summer with salary arbitration rights and with 82 NHL games now under his belt, it’s possible that Chicago could feel the risk of a hearing is too great. Accordingly, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them try to work on getting him signed before the tender deadline in June.
- Kings prospect Liam Greentree was suspended for two games today by the OHL for a checking from behind incident on Sunday, the league announced (Twitter link). The 19-year-old was the 26th pick last June and sits tied for second in the league in points (with 119) while being fourth in goals (49) and second in assists (70). Windsor only has two games remaining in the regular season so he won’t be able to move up those leaderboards even further.
- Ducks prospect Will Francis will join AHL San Diego for their stretch run, reports Matt Wellens of the Duluth News-Tribune. The 24-year-old blueliner was a sixth-round pick back in 2019, going 163rd overall. Francis is a three-time cancer survivor, missing time in three of his four collegiate campaigns at the University of Minnesota-Duluth due to the illness, limiting him to just 39 games overall, five of which came this season.
Blues Hopeful That Colton Parayko Could Return Before End Of Regular Season
Earlier this month, the Blues announced that defenseman Colton Parayko would miss six weeks before being re-evaluated after undergoing a scope on his knee. With only six weeks left in the year, it was reasonable to infer that this would be a season-ending issue for the veteran.
But that might not be the case after all. Speaking with reporters today including Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, head coach Jim Montgomery opened the door for the possibility that his top defender could be back earlier than anticipated:
Do I think he’s going to be six weeks? I do not think he’s going to be six weeks. That’s just me because that’s my belief in him and our athletic training staff and our doctors. Outside of that, I don’t know how much sooner than six weeks.
The 31-year-old was well on his way to setting a new career-high in points this season, notching 15 goals and 20 assists through his first 64 outings. As it stands, he has matched his personal best in the points department, a mark he has now hit four times. Parayko also leads the Blues in ATOI (23:51) and blocked shots (140), making his absence a very significant one with St. Louis remaining in the mix for a Wild Card spot.
It’s possible that how the Blues fare in these next few weeks could ultimately dictate if Parayko ultimately makes it back. If the team falls out of the mix before then, it might make more sense for the blueliner to simply shut it down for the rest of the year anyway to avoid any risks heading into the offseason. If he does make it back before the end of the campaign though, he’ll be the third Blue to do so this season after Robert Thomas and Philip Broberg each came back a couple of weeks ahead of schedule.
Canucks Notes: Tocchet, Boeser, Offseason Target, Celebrini
Don’t expect to hear any news about a contract extension for Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet anytime soon. Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre relays that the bench boss noted on local radio earlier this week that he has told management that he does not want to discuss a new deal at this time. Instead, he wants to concentrate his focus on Vancouver’s playoff push. The Canucks hold a club option on Tocchet’s contract for next season, one that’s expected to be exercised should a new deal not be reached in the meantime while Tocchet noted that his decision shouldn’t be construed as a lack of desire to remain behind the bench or a play for more leverage.
More from Vancouver:
- The Canucks weren’t able to re-sign or find a suitable trade for Brock Boeser before the trade deadline earlier this month. Speaking with Pierre LeBrun in a piece for The Athletic (subscription link), GM Patrik Allvin wouldn’t rule out the possibility of further extension talks taking place even though the two sides weren’t close enough to hammer out a deal a couple of weeks ago, shifting them to focus toward a trade that didn’t materialize. Boeser is having a bit of a quieter year, notching 20 goals and 21 assists through 61 games after potting 40 goals and 33 helpers just last season. It’s believed that he turned down a five-year, roughly $40MM extension offer earlier in the season but it’s unclear what Vancouver’s most recent offer was.
- While the Canucks picked up Filip Chytil as part of the J.T. Miller trade earlier this season, don’t be surprised if they add another center this summer. Allvin revealed in the same interview that “definitely we’ll do that in the offseason, whether that’s through trade or free-agent signing.” Pius Suter is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer so if he departs, they will certainly have another opening down the middle to fill while Chytil’s concussion history will likely motivate them to get some more center depth as well.
- Prospect Aiden Celebrini is expected to remain at Boston University next season, relays Max Miller of Sharks Hockey Digest. The 20-year-old defenseman was a sixth-round pick by Vancouver back in 2023, going 171st overall. He’s close to wrapping up his sophomore year with the Terriers and has a goal and five assists through 26 games this season. The Canucks hold Celebrini’s rights through August 15, 2027.
West Notes: Trouba, Foligno, Utah, Biakabutuka
Ducks defenseman Jacob Trouba will not face any supplemental discipline from his hit on St. Louis forward Jordan Kyrou on Sunday, notes Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link). The hit occurred in the first period and no penalty was assessed on the play while Kyrou remained in the game. While it looked as if contact was made with Kyrou’s head, the league determined that the head was not the principal point of contact, and Trouba connected with Kyrou’s arm and shoulder as well.
More from the West:
- The Wild announced (Twitter link) that winger Marcus Foligno was scratched from tonight’s game against Los Angeles due to an upper-body injury. The 33-year-old leads Minnesota in hits with 219 through 67 games this season but his offensive production has been limited once again as he has just 11 goals and 11 assists while logging a little over 14 minutes a night. There’s no word yet on how long Foligno might be out for.
- It appears that Utah Hockey Club has settled on its team name moving forward, according to CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd (Twitter link). However, there’s no timeline just yet for when that name will be revealed. The latest fan vote on the name came in late January with Mammoth, Outlaws (replacing Wasatch), and Hockey Club as the three options.
- The Ducks have reassigned defenseman Jeremie Biakabutuka to ECHL Tulsa, per an announcement from their AHL affiliate in San Diego. He was promoted to the Gulls last month, getting into 11 games but with Stian Solberg recently being sent to the AHL, Anaheim decided that they were best off getting Biakabutuka more playing time at the lower level. The 23-year-old has 15 points in 21 outings with Tulsa and has one year left on this one on his entry-level contract.
East Notes: Hurricanes, Penguins, Sabres
The Hurricanes have taken some big swings on the trade front the last couple of years, landing Jake Guentzel at the 2023 trade deadline and Mikko Rantanen earlier this season. But they weren’t able to sign either one with Rantanen subsequently being flipped. Despite not being able to sign either one, GM Eric Tulsky indicated in an interview with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription link) that he is more than willing to take another big swing on a prominent pending UFA should the opportunity present itself down the road, even without an extension in place. Tulsky believes that the team is usually able to keep the players that they want to and more often than not, the interest is mutual so in his mind, the odds should be good that they can get something done whenever they make a move to add another key rental in the future.
Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:
- Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette provided updates on a few injured Penguins. Defensemen Pierre-Oliver Joseph (upper body) and Ryan Shea (upper body) both skated before practice today while center Thomas Novak (lower body) has yet to hit the ice after being injured last week. Joseph was injured at the beginning of the month and quickly landed on IR while Shea was injured last week. Both blueliners have week-to-week designations while a timeline for Novak’s return remains uncertain.
- While the Sabres didn’t have JJ Peterka back in the lineup tonight against Boston, he’s on track to return on Thursday versus Utah, reports Lance Lysowski of The Athletic (Twitter link). Peterka has been one of Buffalo’s top scorers all season with 51 points in 61 games and while a playoff chase isn’t going to happen, the 23-year-old is a pending restricted free agent and will undoubtedly be hoping for a strong finish heading into contract talks. Meanwhile, Lysowski added that blueliner Jacob Bernard-Docker should make his Buffalo debut at some point on their four-game road trip. He was acquired at the trade deadline but only recently received his work visa to start skating with the team so he’ll need a few practices to get up to speed first.