It’s time to continue with the Minnesota Wild report cards, and we’re still looking at the bottom six. This time, the spotlight will shine on Patrick Maroon and his short stint with the Wild. He joined the team during the offseason of 2023 after the Tampa Bay Lightning traded him away. It was rather surprising, but at the time, the Wild needed a bit more muscle, and he fit the bill.
He kept up with his physical play and quickly worked his way into Wild fans’ hearts despite being despised before joining the team. He was traded away from the Wild before they missed out on the postseason, but he still played over half the season with them, and that’s why he’ll receive a grade. With no postseason, we’ll look at a rough part of his game and a strong part and then come up with an overall grade.
Maroon’s Lack of Blocks
An area of Maroon’s game that could really use improvement, and has since the beginning of his career, is his lack of blocked shots. This past season, he played in 49 games for the Wild and had just 16 blocked shots, which is pretty low. As a physical player in the bottom six who also has a lower offensive side, his defensive stats should be better and make up for the low offense.
Along with his low number of blocks, he had a high number of turnovers at 17 that did cost his team a time or two. Maroon may not have many years left in his career but with what time he does have left he could improve his defense a bit. He’s not afraid to lay out his body for a hit, he should feel the same for a blocked shot.
The final area of his game that needs work is his high number of penalty minutes. He had 60 penalty minutes that included six majors and one misconduct. If he wants to score more goals, he must spend more time on the ice than in the penalty box.
Maroon’s Physicalness Kept Up
The area of Maroon’s game that doesn’t need any adjusting is his level of physicality. Despite getting older, he can still throw hits and help change the play’s momentum. He threw 71 hits throughout his time with the Wild, which put him eighth on the roster behind big hitters like Jake Middleton and Marcus Foligno.
While the game is less about fighting now, the hits are still a vital part and Maroon played that part in the small amount of time he was on their roster. He wasn’t afraid to be physical but he also wasn’t hesitant to take shots, they just wouldn’t go in. He scored four goals and 12 assists for 16 points plus he took 54 shots.
With his higher number of shots, it would’ve been expected for him to have more than 16 points, but the goaltenders he faced were one step ahead. He needs to keep taking shots but figure out where he’s getting stopped and adjust so he can beat them. If he can, he could also use to increase his shots, as the more shots he takes, the more chances he has to score.
Maroon’s Overall Grade
After looking at the bad and good of his season performance, he earned a C-. It wasn’t higher because the Wild definitely could’ve used more offense out of him and less penalty time. He hasn’t been a big producer in the past, but they needed everyone, including him, to step up. However it wasn’t lower because he did hold up his end of the bargain by being the physical presence everyone expected out of him.
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He won’t be able to improve his grade with the Wild as he was traded away at the trade deadline. Then, during the offseason, he was signed during free agency by another team in the same division as the Wild, the Chicago Blackhawks. Hopefully, the Wild will be ready for his physicality when the two teams meet, and the Wild can come out on top.
