Over the past few years, the Blackhawks have struggled in a lot of different areas. Offense. Defense. Goaltending. Many of those areas got better over the offseason, with several competent players in all three areas being signed in free agency or traded for.
But one of the biggest improvements over last year hasn’t been talked about enough – the role of enforcer among the forward lines. Many of Chicago’s players, especially those at the top of the pipeline, lack in size, with the Blackhawks prioritizing speed and skill instead of physicality. That’s an area where the Blackhawks could use some help, and it appears they’ve finally gotten it.
Through three games, as well as preseason action, new acquisition Pat Maroon has been everything the Blackhawks could have asked for in an enforcer. The players that have been brought in to fill that role in the past, like Jarred Tinordi, haven’t necessarily been bad, but they probably didn’t belong in the NHL. Maroon, on the other hand, is a great player who fills the gap in Chicago’s offense perfectly.
Maroon isn’t going to generate any individual high-danger scoring chances, or score many goals in general. He isn’t going to make a flashy, between-the-legs play to find another forward, or draw much attention from the defense. Maroon was brought in to protect his teammates while providing a physical side that the Blackhawks have been missing for the past several years, and he does that well. Check out the hit he made in Saturday’s game:
That type of physicality will help Chicago win games this season. Sure, he may not provide the same stats as an offensive player like Connor Bedard or Philipp Kurashev. But he’s just what this team needs, especially with young, skilled players that need protecting. Opposing players will think twice before hitting someone like Bedard, knowing that they’ll come face-to-face with Maroon at some point, who will put them into the boards, or, in some cases, over them.
Despite everything Maroon does for this year’s team, there are still fans out there advocating for Lukas Reichel to take his spot. Reichel, who hasn’t seen any game action in the regular season, is hoping for any opportunity he can get, and some argued that Maroon won’t produce much offense and should be taken out. However, that’s simply not the role Maroon was brought here to play. It would be a struggle to name a single time Reichel has laid a hit on another player, so until that time comes, he’s not taking Maroon’s spot. I’ll have my eye on Maroon whenever he’s on the ice this season, and so will opposing players, which means he’s immensely valuable and integral to Chicago’s potential success this year.
