Not much more than 24 hours after losing physical winger Ryan Reaves in NHL free agency, Wild general manager Bill Guerin quickly found his replacement.
On Sunday night, the Wild acquired three-time Stanley Cup champion Pat Maroon in a trade with the Tampa Bag Lightning. As if that wasn’t already enough, the Wild also nabbed winger Max Cajkovic in the deal, and only had to give up a seventh-round pick in the 2024 NHL draft. To make the money work, the Lightning will retain 20% of Maroon’s contract
It doesn’t take a hockey savant to understand what the 35-year-old Maroon brings to the table. He had 14 points (5 goals, 9 assists) in 80 games last season to go along with a league-high 150 penalty minutes. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound winger has spent 12 seasons in the NHL with the Anaheim Ducks (2011-12), Edmonton Oilers (2015-18), New Jersey Devils (2017-18), St. Louis Blues (2018-19) and Lightning (2019-23).
Although his Stanley Cups clearly speak for themselves, Maroon also has 288 points (117 goals, 171 assists) in his NHL career across 729 games. He’s played an additional 150 games in the playoffs.
As for the 22-year-old Cajkovic, he’s most likely destined for the minor leagues next season. He recorded 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists) in 41 games with the Orlando Solar Bears of ECHL last season. He was originally a third-round pick by the Lightning in the 2019 NHL draft.