April 12, 2025, 06:25 PM ET
Chicago – Pat Maroon played his first and last NHL games at United Center.
In the meantime, it was quite a ride.
The Maroons closed their final season with their 14th and final time when the Chicago Blackhawks lost 5-4 to the Winnipeg Jets in a Saturday night shootout. He was joined by defensive man Alec Martinez. Alec Martinez made Chicago’s home finale the final game.
The Blackhawks have two road days left on their schedule, but Maroon and Martinez are heading for retirement.
“It’s all we knew,” Maroon said. “And I’m so happy to be able to share it with Marty tonight. A big player and a guy who scored a big goal. Hockey player hell, rival.”
Maroon and Martinez each got their start in their final game. Blackhawks paid tribute to the Maroon in the highlight video during a one-period timeout and did the same for the third Martinez.
Congratulations to Pat Maroon, the only Pat Maroon in an incredible career – pic.twitter.com/3xohhjbtuw
– Chicago Blackhawks (@nhlblackhawks) April 13, 2025
The crowd responded with a standing ovation after each compliment. An emotional maroon was swayed, thanking his heart, and Martinez also waved his hand and held the stick in the air.
After the game, the Jets were stuck due to a handshake line with the three-time Stanley Cup winner. Maroon and Martinez then hugged, waving at the family in the cheering crowd, and another hug before leaving the ice.
“It’s not because I’m really in the spotlight,” Martinez said.
The St. Louis native, who turned 37 on April 23, signed a one-year, one-year contract with Chicago last summer at free agency. The sturdy forward announced last month that he is scheduled to retire after this season, but he revealed that the home finale will be his last game until Saturday.
“He was great, he’s a lot of fun being around,” Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard said. “Obviously, his experiences in the league… he can teach us a lot. But just the laughter he brings and the energy he brings to the room, I think he’s someone who wants to be around.”
The Maroon was selected by Philadelphia in the sixth round of the 2007 draft. He was traded to Anaheim in 2010 and made his NHL debut on October 25, 2011 with the Ducks’ Shootout Loss in Chicago.
The Maroon helped his hometown Blues win the Stanley Cup for the first time in 2019. He also won back-to-back championships at the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021.
Congratulations to legendary Alec Martinez on his incredible career! pic.twitter.com/kjr1xazku0
– Chicago Blackhawks (@nhlblackhawks) April 13, 2025
He became the fourth player in NHL history, his first player since 1964, and won the Cup for the third year in a row with two teams. He also finished his career with 126 goals and 197 assists in 848 regular season games in Edmonton, New Jersey, Minnesota and Boston.
“I’ve been lucky enough to do what I love to make a living for a long time,” Maroon said. “Looking back at my career when this was all done, I look back at the bad times I went through in Philadelphia.
The Maroon had kept the possibility of working in hockey open, but he wasn’t ready to think about it yet.
“For now, my focus is on family,” he said. “My wife has always had a deadline, so we’ll focus on that, go back to Tampa, settle down, digest everything, focusing on what the next step is.”
Martinez, 37, who won two Los Angeles and one in Vegas, joined Chicago on July 1st in free agency.
Martinez had one of the biggest moments of his career playing against the Black Hawks. He scored in overtime when Los Angeles eliminated Chicago in a 5-4 victory in Game 7 of the epic Western Conference Finals in 2014.
