The Pat Maroon Era in Boston is about to begin.
While Coach Jim Montgomery didn’t want to say definitively that Maroon would make his Bruins debut in Pittsburgh on Saturday night, choosing to wait until Saturday morning to see how Maroon responded to Friday’s 40-minute practice, Maroon had no such reservations.
“Yup, I’ll be there,” said Maroon.
He’s feeling fit enough to play, though he suspects his game will not be honed until he can get some real action in.
“I’m sure my timing will be horse-bleep (on Saturday) but I don’t know,” he said with a chuckle. “Practice is practice. It’s never game-like. Obviously battle drills are more game-like and 3-on-2 rushes, but I think getting into games with the speed and picking pucks up off the wall, making plays on the wall, making plays in the D-zone, that’s all going to come naturally, but sometimes timing’s going to be off a little bit. I’m assuming my timing will be off, but hopefully not too bad. I’m not the fastest skater, so my hands and vision have usually got me through where I’m at now, so I’ve just got to use that and protect the puck, and hopefully the game just flows.”
Provided everything checks out in the morning, it will be Maroon’s first game action since suffering a back injury on January 27 as a member of the Minnesota Wild in a game against the Anaheim Ducks. He underwent surgery on Feb. 7. Maroon, 35, was obtained by the Bruins at the trade deadline on March 9 for minor leaguer Luke Toporowski and a conditional sixth-round pick in 2026.
Since then, he’s been working with the training staff to get into the Bruins’ lineup.
“They were being patient with me in getting me and making sure I’m healthy and making sure I’m 100 percent,” said Maroon. “We took all the right steps to get me to where I need to be. I’m excited. This last week was great to get some extra work in and buy some more time to get me in a game here. I’m excited to play, and we’re playing a Pittsburgh team that’s trying to get in the playoffs. It’s a good start for me to get me ready for the playoffs here.”
In Friday’s practice, Maroon took a regular shift on a line on his off wing with center Jesper Boqvist and left wing Jakub Lauko. He’ll add a physical presence that the Bruins were looking for when they signed Milan Lucic last summer. He was also added for his playoff experience, having won three straight Stanley Cups with St. Louis in 2019 and Tampa Bay the following two seasons.
Maroon was on the second power-play unit at the net-front position, replacing the size that was lost when Justin Brazeau was injured in Nashville last week.
“It’s nice to get a little look there. Obviously, I’ve been on the power play since I’ve been in the league. I didn’t think I’d be on the power play here, but it’s nice to get a look and hopefully I can show what I can do in front of the net,” said Maroon.
Asked if, with three games left in the regular season, it was enough time to get ready for the playoffs, Maroon admitted that he wasn’t sure. But he wasn’t overly concerned.
“Does it matter? No, I don’t think it really does,” said Maroon. “I think it’s all in your head. We’re professional athletes. I think we know what we need and what we don’t need. I’ve been here before and I’ve done it. I just have to go out there and play. I can’t worry about what’s it like and how many games I’m playing. I know what I need to do.”
BRUINS GENERAL MANAGER Don Sweeney was named GM for Team Canada for next winter’s Four Nations tournament, as well as assistant GM for Canada’s 2026 Olympic team.
“I am both honored and appreciative of the opportunity to be a part of Hockey Canada,” Sweeney said in a statement. “Having the trust of Doug Armstrong, Katherine Henderson and Pat McLaughlin as well as working with Jim Nill, Ryan Getzlaf, Scott Salmond, and others, including all the proud Canadian players, will be an incredible life experience. We will work hard to put together the best teams to proudly represent Canada and to compete at the highest level to accomplish one goal. I want to thank the Jacobs family and Cam in supporting my role with Hockey Canada.”
Montgomery has been amazed at Sweeney’s work ethic.
“(Sweeney is) incredibly prepared, incredibly hard-working, incredibly bright,” said Montgomery. “I think when he goes home, he sleeps in that Iron Man outfit, because he probably only sleeps about an hour a day and then he comes out and he just starts running. I’m amazed at the man. The job he does…just look at our lineup. No one thought we’d be the team that we are. I think not enough credit goes to him.”…
KEVIN SHATTENKIRK will be back in the lineup Saturday. He manned the second power-play unit. Montgomery added that, though he wouldn’t want to do it regularly, a lineup consisting of 11 forwards and seven defensemen is “a very, very plausible thing at some point.”
Montgomery also tinkered with his forward lines, moving Jake DeBrusk back with Charlie Coyle and Brad Marchand while a creating a line with John Beecher, Morgan Geekie and Trent Frederic. DeBrusk was also moved to the net front on the first power-play unit.
Defenseman Mason Lohrei practiced for a bit Friday but was sent to Providence of the American Hockey League to get in some game action over the weekend.
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