Oilers among teams interested in Patrick Maroon

The Oilers had a fairly quiet first day of free agency on Canada Day, but don’t expect Ken Holland is packing it up for the summer just yet. There are still holes on the Oilers’ roster, particularly up front, left to fill with players who fall through the cracks.

According to Mark Spector, the Oilers are considering a reunion with Patrick Maroon.

Maroon, of course, played parts of three seasons with the Oilers. He was acquired as a cap dump at the 2016 trade deadline, caught fire the following season and put up a career-high 27 goals, and then got traded at the 2018 trade deadline to New Jersey. He would end up signing a cheap, one-year deal with his hometown Blues a week-and-a-half into free agency last year.

After a slow start to the season, Maroon played a key checking role with the Blues in winning their first-ever Stanley Cup. Maroon scored just 10 goals and 28 points in 74 games and then put up three goals and seven points during the Blues’ Stanley Cup run.

I wrote last year that the Oilers were going to miss Patrick Maroon more than most would have expected. During his time here, many attributed his breakout numbers to simply riding shotgun beside Connor McDavid, but Maroon posted good underlying numbers in virtually every situation the Oilers used him in. Though his offence was down in St. Louis, Maroon again proved his versatility, filling in very effectively in a checking role on a Stanley Cup winning team.

The Oilers don’t have that much money to work with this summer, which is why I like the idea of a Maroon reunion. Given the fact he’s coming off a 10-goal season, Maroon won’t break the bank. He’s already familiar with the team and the city and the Oilers badly need depth on the wings. This seems like a perfect match.