St. Louis fans are known for their passion, but what unfolded at Enterprise Center was something else entirely. In what became his final NHL game in his hometown, Blackhawks forward and St. Louis native Pat Maroon received a standing ovation that left even the toughest hockey hearts emotional.
Before the puck dropped Saturday, Maroon shared with former Blues broadcaster Darren Pang that this season would be his last. A 14-year NHL career. Three Stanley Cups. Ninety-six fights. Eight different teams. And a legacy built on resilience, grit, and a relentless pursuit to prove the doubters wrong.
During the second period, with emotions high and the moment building, the crowd erupted. Blues fans rose in unison, applauding the kid from Oakville who lived out every St. Louis hockey dream. Cameras caught his father, Phil Maroon, tearing up in the stands — a proud dad watching his son take one last bow on the ice where he once brought home a Stanley Cup in 2019.
“It was fantastic [the ovation]. It brought a little emotion to me also,” Phil said later. “I’m just so proud of his accomplishments. He’s done it all on his own… fought through the minor leagues and made it happen.”
Both benches tapped their sticks in respect as Maroon turned, saluted the crowd, and clapped his hands toward the Blues bench. A standing ovation from the very city he once helped deliver a title to — and from fans who had every reason to still stand with him.
Pat Maroon clocks 96 fights in his NHL career pic.twitter.com/ChTYne53CL
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 22, 2025
To wrap up the night, Pat Maroon was named the game’s No. 1 star, in a touching gesture, receiving one final roar from the St. Louis faithful. “I was shocked what the Blues did for me tonight,” Maroon said. “They didn’t have to do that.” It may have been an emotional night, but that wasn’t going to diminish the fighter in Maroon.
One final fight, one last shift: Pat Maroon goes out his way
In typical Pat Maroon fashion, the veteran didn’t let his St. Louis sendoff end quietly. Late in the third period, he dropped the gloves with Blues defenseman Tyler Tucker, throwing hands one last time in a nod to the playstyle that defined much of his career.
“I guess I can still throw them,” Maroon joked postgame. “It was kind of an organic fight… If it’s my last fight in St. Louis, that’s pretty cool.”
Maroon ends his career with 840 NHL games and 96 career fights — numbers that symbolize both his longevity and fearless style. He carved his path from local high school hockey to the NHL through sheer determination, even spending years grinding in the minors before finally getting his break.
“Sometimes you’ve got to give up everything you know and everything you dreamed of your whole life,” he said. “I just know it’s time for me and my family to go start a new chapter.”
Nicknamed, “The Big Rig,” Pat Maroon won over fans with his physical presence and honest approach to the game. He once posted a 27-goal season in in 2016-17 and tallied over 100 penalty minutes three times — all while playing the role of a leader and tone-setter on every team he suited up for.
From helping the Blues win it all in 2019 to back-to-back Cups in Tampa Bay, Maroon’s resume speaks volumes. But it was that 28-second moment Saturday — the applause, the tears, the final shift — that told the story of what he meant to the city of St. Louis. And in return, the fans gave Pat Maroon something no stats sheet ever could: a hero’s sendoff.
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