Chicago Blackhawks Trade Deadline: 3X Stanley Cup Champ on the Move

The March 7th NHL trade deadline is quickly approaching and the Blackhawks are poised to be one of the busiest teams during the Friday trade deadline.

The organization has several assets that they're ready to part ways with to retrieve positive returns on investments, such as defenseman Connor Murphy and forward Ryan Donato.

But now, another prominent forward has surfaced on the block.

Signing him to a 1-year deal this past off-season, Patrick Maroon is now listed on the trade block.

Maroon has done his job with the Blackhawks, providing glue to the team's bottom six forwards and also serving as a protector to Connor Bedard, where he has dropped the gloves on multiple occasions, in response to the 19-year old being hit.

With the organization far out from a playoff spot, it makes sense as to why he's placed on the trade deadline, as they can recoup a draft pick instead of losing him for zero cost during free agency.

Also, Pat Maroon could have another shot at playing on a Stanley Cup contender at this late stage of his career at 36-years of age.

According to insider Jeff Marek, two teams are interested in acquiring the three-time Stanley Cup Champion for their playoff run.

Maroon helped the Lightning win back-to-back cups in 2020 and 2021, and would be a solid addition to their fourth line.

The Panthers are also in need of grit for their bottom six forward group, but he wouldn't be in the full-time lineup and would only be inserted when rough matchups come along.

The Blackhawks are not expecting much in return, as a fourth-line player they are unexpected to acquire a fifth-round draft pick or even later.

Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson only retrieved a third-round draft pick in exchange for a former first overall pick in Taylor Hall, and also retained a ton of salary.

With Maroon's $1.3 million cap hit the Blackhawks should not retain any on such a small contract, but knowing Davidson's ways it would not surprise anyone if he did retain a large portion of his contract.