Saying goodbye to Anthony Maroon

We would be remiss in our duties, obligation, commitment to being the voice of the Nation if we didn’t take a quick minute to acknowledge that a little part of our hearts died when yesterday when Pat Maroon was traded to the New Jersey Devils. Sure, we’re upset about losing Patty on the ice, but we’re also going to miss him off the ice as well.

In the past, in a world before social media and never-ending access to the players and their lives, we weren’t generally as invested in what happens off the ice as we were with what goes on it. Now, we have basically unlimited access to the guys who are nice enough to share their lives and their families with us. For a guy like Pat Maroon, sharing his relationship with his son was another thing to love about the Big Rig.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPT5Sn8g21A/?hl=en

When Baggedmilk asked me do this piece I got excited and choked up at the same time. Anthony Maroon, or Little Rig as we called him, quickly became known around the Nation for his enthusiasm and love of being at the rink. With Maroon moving on to New Jersey, Anthony will no longer be on the bench with his dad doing their secret handshakes and he will no longer be lighting up NHL goalies at the super skills competition.

When I made this video yesterday as a goodbye to Patty, the last clip I included may be the most human moment we have seen from any Oiler ever (clip starts at 0:37).

But maybe, just maybe this story will have a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel. After his trade yesterday, Patrick did hint at the chance that we may see him back in orange and blue next year, and that would be Anthony would come along with him. We’d be lying to say we weren’t hopeful that this happens. So long, Anthony, we’ll miss your cheers and your puck skills. Here’s hoping we’ll see you again sooner than later.