2023-24 Wild Report Cards: Patrick Maroon – Hockey Writers – Minnesota Wild

It's time to continue with the Minnesota Wild report cards, and we're still looking at the bottom six. This time, the spotlight will shine on Patrick Maroon and his short time with the Wild. He joined the team during the 2023 season after the Tampa Bay Lightning traded him. It was amazing, but at the time, the Wild needed more muscle, and they fit the bill.

He continued his physical play and quickly made his way into the hearts of Wild fans despite being despised before joining the team. He was traded away from the Wild before they missed the postseason, but he still played with them for more than half the season, so he'll get the grade. Since it's not the postseason, we're going to look at the tough part of his game and the tough part and come up with a total grade.

No Maroon Blocks

An area of ​​Maroon's game that could use improvement, and from the start of his career, is his lack of blocked shots. This past season, he played in 49 games for the Wild and had 16 blocked shots, a career low. As a visible player in the bottom six and with a subpar offensive offense, his defensive stats should improve and make for a subpar offense.

Along with his low number of blocks, he had a turnover high of 17 which cost his team a time or two. Maroon may not have many years left in his career but in the time he has left he can improve his defense a bit. He's not afraid to put his body up for a hit, he should feel the same way about a blocked shot.

The last area of ​​his game that needs work is his high number of penalty minutes. He had 60 penalty minutes that included six majors and one misconduct. If he wants to score more goals, he should spend more time on the ice than in the penalty box.

Maroon's Body Continued

An area of ​​Maroon's game that doesn't need to be improved is his physical quality. Despite his age, he can still throw hits and help change the momentum of a game. He threw 71 hits during his time with the Wild, which ranks him eighth on the list of big hitters such as Jake Middleton and Marcus Foligno.

While the game is less about fighting now, hits are still an important part and Maroon has played that part in the short time he's been on the roster. He wasn't afraid to be physical but he also wasn't afraid to hit shots, which just didn't go in. He scored four goals and 12 assists for 16 points and 54 shots.

With his high number of shots, he was expected to have more than 16 points, but the strikers he faced were one step ahead. He needs to keep shooting but see where he is being stopped and adjust so he can hit them. If he can, he can use to increase his shots, as if he hits them, there are more chances of scoring goals.

Maroon's Perfect Grade

After looking at the ups and downs of his performance season, he received a C-. It wasn't much because the Wild could definitely use more offense on him and less penalty time. He hadn't been a great producer before, but they needed everyone, including him, to step up. However, it did not go down because he held his destiny by being the visible person that everyone expected from him.

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He won't be able to improve his streak with the Wild as he was traded at the deadline. Then, during the offseason, he was signed during free agency by another team in the same division as the Wild, the Chicago Blackhawks. Hopefully the Wild will be ready for his body when these two teams meet, and the Wild can come out on top.