Chicago Blackhawks fan-favorite forward Pat Maroon has announced he will be retiring from the NHL at the end of the season.
Ahead of the Blackhawks vs St. Louis Blues game in St. Louis, Maroon announced he would be retiring from the NHL. Maroon, who is from St. Louis, says the time was right for him to make the decision.
“It’s tough. Sometimes you’ve gotta give up everything you know and everything you’ve dreamed of your whole life,” Maroon said to Darren Pang on the ice. “I just know it’s time for me and it’s time for my family to go start a new chapter in our lives. To get to have a special moment tonight and be in St. Louis, to have my family come to town.
“I won a Stanley Cup here and I’m just going to finish this year as every game is going to be my last game,” Maroon added. “I’m going to play as hard as I can and do everything I can to keep winning hockey (games). This is all I know, it’s tough. It’s hard to go through things like this, you can’t really process it, it’s best for me and my family to start a new chapter.”
Maroon won three straight Stanley Cups, first winning with his hometown Blues in 2019. He then won with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021.
Maroon Happy to Prove Doubters Wrong
Maroon was a sixth-round draft pick in 2007 and never made his NHL debut until the 2011-12 season.
The gritty forward had to grind his way through the AHL to reach the NHL. But, he became an impactful forward in the NHL, mostly on the fourth line. So, after reaching 800+ career games, Maroon felt the time was now to retire and start a new chapter in his life.
“Obviously everyone knows the circumstances,” Maroon said. “840 (games), I would have never thought… For me, I laid it all out there at the end of the night, for me I did everything the right way and be an honest player. It’s going to be an emotional night for me, we all know what is going to happen. I accomplished everything in my career that I would have never thought. Bet against all the odds, everyone doubted me.”
Maroon has recorded 4 goals and 12 assists for 16 points in 59 games with the Blackhawks this season. The 36-year-old signed a one-year $1.3 million deal with the Blackhawks for the 2024-25 NHL season.
Blackhawks GM Believes Rebuild is Nearly Over
Chicago is currently in the midst of a rebuild, but Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson believes that is nearly over.
The Blackhawks are 20-40-9 and have the second-worst record in the NHL. Although Davidson expected the team to be better, he is happy with the steps the organization has made.
“For this group at the NHL level, I did expect a little more and we made a coaching change because of that,” Davidson said. “That’s a pretty big indicator that I didn’t feel the group was where they needed to be. So, that in itself is disappointing, but a macro level and much higher-level view, I’m really excited and really happy with where things are headed. Like you said, the NHL team, I wish we did have a little more success here in the first half than we have. But it doesn’t diminish the progress I think we’re making big picture.”
Chicago hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2019-20 season.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Blackhawks Fan-Favorite Forward Shockingly Announces Retirement appeared first on Heavy Sports.