Following trade to Wild, Pat Maroon turns page on Lightning, Tampa Bay

Pat Maroon was at dinner with former Lightning teammate Ryan McDonagh Sunday night — two good friends who helped bring back-to-back Stanley Cups to Tampa Bay spending Fourth of July weekend at McDonagh’s lake house in Wisconsin.

That’s when Maroon received a text from Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois asking him to call him as soon as possible.

Moments later, BriseBois informed Maroon he was being traded to the Wild, the latest member of the Lightning’s Cup-winning core to depart. Entering the final year of this contract with Tampa Bay, the team sent Maroon to Minnesota for a seventh-round pick in next year’s draft.

“I think when you get a call like that it’s a bit shocking, especially with a team you won with,” Maroon said Monday as he was introduced to the media in Minnesota. “I figured it was something.”

"We're gonna go out there and try to win a Stanley Cup"

🗣 Patrick Maroon on coming to Minnesota and getting to work 😤#mnwild pic.twitter.com/0eP4A7ePMh
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) July 3, 2023

It was ironic that Maroon was with McDonagh.

The two shared the highs of winning, riding together up Seddon Channel and the Hillsborough River during the Lightning’s second boat parade, chugging Bud Lights with fans and celebrating back-to-back Cups. Days earlier, McDonagh passed the Cup to Maroon for his celebratory lap around the ice at Amalie Arena after Tampa Bay beat Montreal in Game 5 of the Cup final.

McDonagh could empathize with how Maroon was feeling at the time of the call. He was traded to Nashville last offseason to clear needed cap space, so he knew well the emotions that arise from being traded by a team with whom he’d won championships.

“It was also nice to be next to one of my best friends, and obviously a guy who understands and has been through it and can talk you through it,” Maroon said.

The next morning, Maroon did his best to look forward to his new opportunity with a legitimate contender in Minnesota, seeking to win his fourth Stanley Cup (including one with St. Louis).

“It’s obviously part of the business,” he said. “It was weird. I was showing Ryan a picture with all the X’s over our heads, all the guys that left the team or got traded or signed (somewhere else). It’s obviously different, but it’s part of the business. Obviously, it’s about Minnesota for me.

“I’m excited. I think we have a chance to win a Stanley Cup, and bringing a Stanley Cup to Minnesota would be unbelievable. They have the players, they have the team. Tampa’s done with, and I’m just going to start focusing on Minnesota.”