© Nick Wosika-Imagn Images
The Tampa Bay Lightning fell to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night which is pathetic when you factor in that Chicago is just 1 point off the worst record in the entire league. Former Tampa Bay Lightning winger who won 2 Stanley Cups with the Bolts (I was there for 1 of them), Pat Maroon, donned his villain mask for the action and managed to draw the ire of everyone on TB’s bench and the fans.
Once one of the most beloved players on the Lightning’s roster, Pat Maroon has since gone on to play with the Wild, Bruins, and Blackhawks and apparently lost his love for Tampa Bay along the way. He was chirping left and right on Tuesday night but things came to a head when got a 2 minute ‘Boarding’ penalty for a dirty hit on Luke Glendening and then got a 2-minute ‘Unsportsmanlike Conduct’ penalty tacked on top.
While Maroon was chirping Glending after the dirty hit, TB captain Victor Hedman didn’t like what he saw. It appeared as if the ‘Big Rig’ was trying to bait Luke into taking the gloves off and Glendening wasn’t taking the bait. Victor Hedman though? He stood Maroon up and made it clear he was ready but Pat hung his head and refused to make eye contact. He played long enough with Victor Hedman to know that he absolutely did not want to catch those hands.
Victor Hedman fulfilling his duties as captain against Pat Maroon. pic.twitter.com/BSCLCQKDtg
— Evan Closky (@ECloskyWTSP) January 29, 2025
What cannot be seen in the clip is Maroon chirping ‘your team sucks’ during all of this, dogging on the Lightning while his team is 1-point off the worst record in the NHL. The Lightning are meanwhile 1-point off playoff position in the Atlantic and hold the 2nd spot in Wild Card standings.
Now Pat Maroon gets two for boarding and an extra two for unsportsmanlike conduct 😳
Things are heated in Tampa pic.twitter.com/UiuGLGA4FN
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 29, 2025
Lightning fans didn’t take too kindly from Pat Maroon talking down on his former team while standing firmly in the gutter of the NHL. They took to X to share their thoughts….
The Lightning Review posted “Victor Hedman has my whole heart for stepping into Pat Maroon like that.” Another person wrote “Pat Maroon being one of my favorite bolts when he played with us has now lost that title since he wants to act CRAZY like are u okay for real.”
Ultimately, to Maroon hockey is a business. It’s his job. He doesn’t view the sport from the same prism as fans do, especially not Tampa Bay Lightning fans who view him through rosy lenses. That said, he’ll always be welcome by *most* Lightning fans even if he continues to act a fool like he did on Tuesday night.