Pat Maroon Makes Boneheaded Comment Downplaying Speed in Today's NHL After Winning Stanley Cup
By Adam Godfrey
A huge part of the St. Louis Blues Stanley Cup winning roster were the top two lines, mainly Ryan O'Reilly who won the Conn Smythe Trophy.
After the cup was awarded and the celebration began, hometown hero Pat Maroon made a very questionable remark.
Pat Maroon: “Old time hockey is back, screw the speed.” #STLBlues #StanleyCup
— NHL Prospects Watcher (@Prospects_Watch) June 13, 2019
Maroon stated that old time hockey was back in the NHL, referencing the old time style of power and aggression rather than speed, skill, and finesse which is the majority of the NHL today.
The power forward also went as far to say "screw the speed," the same speed that wore down the Boston Bruins and allowed the Blues to finish them off in Game 7 to win the Stanley Cup.
Lol, because Schwartz, OReilly, Schenn and Taransenko clearly doesn't bring speed... Need both, Maroon was a none factor in final because he could not follow, Blais, Barbashev, Sundkvist were way more important...
— Sebastien Levesque (@seblev3) June 13, 2019
Speed was quite possibly the most important aspect of the Stanley Cup Finals, granted there was a rough and tough feel throughout the games. Look no further than Maroon's teammates, the very people who helped deliver St. Louis their first Stanley Cup.
O'Reilly was the perfect example of both types of hockey meeting at the apex: he has speed, skill, power, aggression and now a Conn Smythe Trophy along with a Stanley Cup on his resume. Other speedy players who played a huge role in their championship were Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz, who each put up big numbers and drew the top defensive pairing for Boston all series long.
Speed kills, especially when it is mixed with power.