Maroon would like to stay in Edmonton
Winger could attract plenty of interest if Oilers become sellers instead of buyers
An underlying matchup Tuesday night when the Buffalo Sabres face the host Edmonton Oilers: Evander Kane vs. Patrick Maroon — Nos. 1 and 2 on TSN’s Trade Bait list.
It’s not what Maroon wants to see. Kane? The way the Sabres are going, maybe he’s dying to be set free from that train wreck.
Maroon, who is due to become an unrestricted free agent in July, badly wants to stay with the Oilers, but if they’re too far out of a Western Conference playoff spot in the weeks before the Feb. 26 trade deadline, then general manager Peter Chiarelli will be in selling mode.
Centre Mark Letestu, also set to become an unrestricted free agent, is another forward Stanley Cup-contending teams will be calling about, because he’s versatile, shoots right, can play the power play and the penalty-kill, and wins more than 50 per cent of his draws.
“Obviously, it stinks seeing that (his name so prominent in trade speculation). You don’t want to see it on TSN every day,” said Maroon, who scored a career-high 27 goals last season. He leads Oilers wingers this season with 13 goals, including four goals in his last three games.
Maroon could get to 20 goals again this year, but while there’s been some talk about a new deal, it’s been simmering conversation — nothing on the front-burner, either a three- or four-year contract, in the $3.75- to $4.5-million range, depending on the length of the deal.
“You know the situation I’m in,” said Maroon. “But I’m an Edmonton Oiler, I want to stay here. I love this city, the fans, this group of guys. I think my teammates know that.”
He’s popular in the dressing room and with the fan base. And he’s a good player, with 26 points in 45 games this year.
“I’ve got to block that situation (trade speculation) out,” he said. “I just want to play hard every night and get this team back on track. This is a really good hockey team, but sometimes, good teams fall apart, and we’re at the situation where we’re close (to turning it around), but we’re not where we should be.
“Pete’s (Chiarelli) given me every
I’m an Edmonton Oiler, I want to stay here. I love this city, the fans, this group of guys. I think my teammates know that.
opportunity and Todd (head coach McLellan) is playing me with the best player in the world. That’s an opportunity a lot of people can’t say they have.”
But if the Oilers are more than 10 points out of a playoff spot in three more weeks, then Chiarelli will become a seller rather than a buyer.
And if he has to move Maroon, who came to the Oilers from Anaheim at the 2016 deadline for a fourth-round pick and Martin Gernat, who is now playing overseas, he’ll likely look for a younger prospect winger or someone on an NHL roster right now, rather than a draft pick. Who knows, maybe the Ducks would want him back?
The Boston Bruins are looking for a top-six winger, too, but more so on the right side, not on Maroon’s position of left wing. That said, Maroon has seven career goals against Boston in eight games.
Trading him will be tricky, though. If you’re going to deal a guy who can score 20, get 40 points and is a big body, the GM had better find somebody who can at least put up his numbers. The Oilers haven’t replaced Jordan Eberle’s 20 goals of a year ago. Ryan Strome’s had some good looks, especially against the Canucks on Saturday, but he hasn’t scored in 11 games and has a total of just seven goals.
Maroon scored at Arizona, at Vegas and had two against Vancouver last Saturday, his first multiple-goal game of the season. He’s back with McDavid after playing on the second line for a long time. This is the first time all season where he’s scored in three straight games, coming off an eight-game drought. He’s had six-, seven- and eight-game runs with no goals in a streaky season.
“In this league, it’s the two-goal nights and the back-to-back onegoal nights that you need to produce get 20 goals,” he said.
McLellan said Maroon has been heading to the net with more authority.
“Playing on a different line (McDavid) sometimes refreshes people,” McLellan said. “He’s strung a group of games together and we want him to continue that.”