Maroon raring to make Boston debut
The Pat Maroon Era in Boston is about to begin.
While coach Jim Montgomery didn’t want to say definitively that the Big Rig would make his Bruins debut in Pittsburgh on Saturday night, choosing to wait until the morning to see how Maroon responded to Friday’s 40-minute practice, Maroon had no such reservations.
“Yup, I’ll be there,” said Maroon.
He’s feeling fit enough to play, though he suspects his game will not honed until he can get some real action in.
“I’m sure my timing will be horse-bleep (on Saturday) but I don’t know,” he said with a chuckle. “Practice is practice. It’s never game-like. Obviously battle drills are more gamelike and 3- on-2 rushes, but I think getting into games with the speed and picking pucks up off the wall, making plays on the wall, making plays in the D-zone, that’s all going to come naturally but sometimes timing’s going to be off a little bit. I’m assuming my timing will be off but hopefully not too bad. I’m not the fastest skater so my hands and vision have usually got me through where I’m at now, so I’ve just got to use that and protect the puck and hopefully the game just flows.”
Provided everything checks out in the morning, it will be Maroon’s first game action since suffering a back injury Jan. 27 as a member of the Minnesota Wild in a game against the Anaheim Ducks. He subsequently underwent surgery Feb. 7. The 35-year- old Maroon was obtained by the B’s on the trade deadline on March 9 for minor leaguer Luke Toporowski and a conditional sixth-round pick in 2026.
Since then, he’s been working with the training staff to get into a Bruin uniform.
“They were being patient with me in getting me and making sure I’m
healthy and making sure I’m 100 percent,” said Maroon. “We took all the right steps to get me to where I need to be. I’m excited. This last week was great to get some extra work in and buy some more time to get me in a game here. I’m excited to play and we’re playing a Pittsburgh team that’s trying to get in the playoffs. It’s a good start for me to get me ready for the play
offs here.”
In Friday’s practice, Maroon took a regular shift on a fourth line on his off wing with center Jesper Boqvist and left wing Jakub Lauko. He’ll add a physical presence the B’s were looking for when they signed Milan Lucic last summer. He was also added for his playoff experience, having won three straight Stanley Cups with St. Louis in 2019 and
Tampa Bay the following two seasons.
Maroon was on the second power play unit at the net-front position, replacing the size that was lost when Justin Brazeau was injured in Nashville last week.
“It’s nice to get a little look there. Obviously I’ve been on the power play since I’ve been in the league. I didn’t think I’d be on the power play here, but it’s nice to get a look and hopefully I can show what I can do in front of the net,” said Maroon.
Asked if, with three games left in the regular season, it was enough time to get ready for the playoffs, Maroon admitted he wasn’t sure. But he wasn’t overly concerned.
“Does it matter? No, I don’t think it really does,” said Maroon. “I think it’s all in your head. We’re professional athletes. I think we know what we need and what we don’t need. I’ve been here before and I’ve done it. I just have to go out there and play. I can’t worry about what’s it like and how many games I’m playing. I know what I need to do.”
Sweeney to assist
B’s GM Don Sweeney was named as the GM for Team Canada for next winter’s Four Nations tournament as well as assistant GM for Canada’s 2026 Olympic team.
“I am both honored and appreciative of the opportunity to be a part of Hockey Canada,” said Sweeney in a statment. “Having the trust of Doug Armstrong, Katherine Henderson and Pat McLaughlin as well as working with Jim Nill, Ryan Getzlaf, Scott Salmond, and others, including all the proud Canadian players, will be an incredible life experience. We will work hard to put together the best teams to proudly represent Canada and to compete at the highest level to accomplish one goal. I want to thank the Jacobs family and Cam ( Neely) in supporting my role with Hockey Canada.”
Montgomery has been amazed at Sweeney’s work ethic.