Bruins fans have become all too familiar with Pat Maroon over the years. And the hulking wing has an idea of how he was perceived here in Boston, his new hockey home.
“Yeah, I feel like I’m hated here,” said Maroon with a chuckle while meeting with Boston reporters for the first time since being acquired from Minnesota on Friday.
When you win a Stanley Cup on Garden ice and you’re not wearing a Bruin uniform, these passions tend to rise up in the fandom. But if Brad Park can be embraced by the Bruin faithful, anyone can. And it’s not like Maroon’s brand hockey rugged hockey that’s not appreciated in this city. Maroon himself seemed to know that.
“I’m super-excited, an Original Six team, a great opportunity,” he said. “I’ve heard nothing but good things about the locker room and a great opportunity to achieve our goals. It’s a great chance to play in the playoffs and have another run.”
Maroon is still recovering from disc surgery on February 7 and does not yet have a target date. But he has started skating and he said he’ll be with the team at home and on the road as he continues to his rehab.
“I’m not too far out,” said Maroon.
When he arrived the Garden on Saturday, he was brought into the interview room before he had a chance to meet his new teammates, many of whom he’s had long, running battles with, like captain Brad Marchand.
“Once I see everyone, it’s going to be fun,” said Maroon. “Obviously, there’s been a lot of chirps and a lot of fighting in the past with these guys. It’s going to be good to be on the other side with these guys now. I’m really looking forward to it. It’s probably going to be an easy transition, so I’m looking forward to it.”
After the B’s 5-1 win over the Penguins, Marchand said, not surprisingly, that he was all good with Maroon.
“I’ve met him before numerous times over the past few years. He’s a great guy off the ice. Never enjoyed him on the ice. We’re really looking forward to having him with our group. He brings a lot of energy and emotion in the room and on the ice and we’re happy to have him here,” said Marchand.
Maroon’s looking forward to pulling on the Bruins’ sweater.
“It gives me chills thinking about it,” said Maroon. “I’m really looking forward to it, just to put that jersey on and go out there. I know these fans are very passionate about their sports. I’m just really looking forward to putting that jersey and going out there and playing and working for the guys. My old high school team is the Bruins colors, so I feel like it was meant to be.”
Maroon was also asked to reminisce about one of the more pain Bruin memories of he last decade, when he and his St. Louis Blues came into the Garden and won Game 7 of the 2019 Cup finals.
“I would say the first 15 minutes of the Game 7, they had us on our heels,” said Maroon. “But it’s a game of adversity and things that change in time. We get a tip-in and then we get that late goal (in the first period). But I think they had all the momentum going into Game 7. They had us on our heels and Jordan Binnington stepped up. I think they were both good teams and sometimes you need puck luck and good saves and good goaltending to win.”
That was his first of three straight Cups with the next two coming with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Now, thanks in part to Minnesota Wild GM Billy Guerin, he hopes to chase a fourth.
“He asked me if I wanted to go to a contender, so kudos to him for coming up to me and asking me if I wanted to to go try and win another Stanley Cup,” said Maroon. “And why not? That’s the ultimate goal when you leave this game, to win and put a stamp on your career. He gave me the opportunity and he worked hard for me to go on a nice playoff run.”
Maroon will wear No. 61….
The Bruins will see Andrew Peeke in uniform before Maroon. After being scratched for all but 23 games this year after playing 162 over the previous two years, the big righthanded defenseman looked like a young man who was just let out of jail when he met with reports before the game.
“There were some tough days, a lot of adversity, but I think looking back at it now and where I am today, you can only look back and take a positive out of it, helping you grow as a person and as a hockey player,” said the 25-year-old Peeke, a second round pick for Columbus in 2016. “I think for me it helped me understand a lot of things in terms of what I’ve got to do on a nightly basis. That’s what I’m most excited about.”
GM Don Sweeney said Friday that Peeke would have to get acclimated to the Bruins’ system and coach Jim Montgomery said he’d get a better handle on things at the B’s practice on Tuesday. But Peeke was happy to get going.
“I’m pumped, especially coming into an organization like this,” said the 6-foot-3, 215-pound stay-at-home defenseman. “You’ve only heard good things, from all the way to the top to the guys. That’s what’s most exciting for me. I’m hitting a little reset obviously. Yesterday was crazy and a whirlwind of a day, but I couldn’t be more happy coming to a team like the Bruins, Original Six. It’s just special.”
Peeke said he got the low-down on what it’s lik to play in Boston from Sean Kuraly, the former Bruins who iis now with Columbus.
“I’ve heard about Boston for the past three years with Sean,” said Peeke, who’ll be wearing Kuraly’s old No. 52. “He told me it’s an unbelievable spot. The organization speaks for itself and the amount of playoff runs this place has gone through in the past few years and everyone said the guys in the room are unbelievable. That’s what I’m excited about.”…
Morgan Geekie, who has struggled on faceoffs this year, won 8-of-14 on Saturday.