The New Jersey Devils have a decent amount of free agents to make decisions on this offseason. One who’s deserved a new contract is Patrick Maroon.
The New Jersey Devils made two major moves at the trade deadline this season. It’s been a while since the Devils were buyers at the deadline, so this was a nice change of pace. Instead of getting rid of good players, GM Ray Shero was trying to acquire them.
Obviously, we know now that one of those moves worked out, and the other was a major bust. Michael Grabner could never get going with the Devils. Grabner lost his confidence almost immediately, and just could not score. It ended with him getting benched for the remainder of the series against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The other move turned out much different. Patrick Maroon was a great addition for the Devils. Sure, he isn’t the same as some of the other Devils players. He’s big and slower, while the rest of the team tries a fast, attacking approach.
However, Maroon was a crucial part of the team, especially in their playoff series.
Maroon brings one major component to the table that the rest of the team doesn’t. He can handle the puck under pressure. This team severely needs someone who can bring the puck into zone without immediately losing it. Even Taylor Hall struggles with this sometimes, as was proof against the Lightning.
Maroon, on the other hand, was skating through a great Lightning defense while waiting for his teammates to get in position. Multiple times this season it turned into goals.
During Shero’s postseason press conference, he talked about the need to re-sign Maroon.
Shero says that Patrick Maroon did a great job for the team. A great fit. As for resigning him, Shero says they will look seriously at it.
— Matt Loughlin (@MattLoug) April 25, 2018
Maroon, on the other hand, didn’t seem too confident the Devils would make a play at him. Chris Ryan with NJ.com talked about his free agency after speaking with him at the player’s clean-out day. He gave this one interesting quote.
"“I would love to be a part of this team. Obviously there’s options every where, so for me, I’ve just got to take some time and hopefully in the next few months, figure out what’s going on. I loved it here. They treated me with nothing but respect and gave me every opportunity to succeed, so for me, I’d love to stay, but with right now I just don’t know what’s going on with the team and everything.”"
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Obviously, there were some things he said that make you confident he would return. On the other hand, it seemed non-committal.
Maroon is still only 30 years old. He seems like he’s been around much longer than that, but it’s clear he still has plenty in the tank. He’s making just $2 million this past season. He could go for a raise, but nothing crazy. If he gets to free agency, things may get crazy.
If Shero comes to Maroon’s agent with a two-year, $7 million contract, I think he may consider signing it. They could work around things from there. The Devils have plenty of cap space, and only some cheaper restricted free agents to sign. Miles Wood, Blake Coleman and Stefan Noesen were crucial parts of this team, but they won’t command big contracts yet. That gives Shero flexibility to re-sign Maroon for a contract that will make both sides happy. He should get it done well before July 1st.