The Boston Bruins landed veteran forward Pat Maroon from the Minnesota Wild before Friday’s NHL trade deadline, and NESN Bruins announcer Jack Edwards offered a quick reaction.
“Looking forward to the next time we meet up. He’ll never lose a fight now that he’s wearing the right sweater on NESN’s Bruins telecasts,” Edwards joked in a message to the Boston Globe’s Matt Porter.
Edwards and Maroon have a history, so to speak. In November 2022, Edwards body-shamed Maroon during a game. Maroon, then with the Tampa Bay Lightning, is a big player, standing 6-foot-3 and weighing 235. Talking about him, Edwards ad-libbed, “Listed at 238 pounds. That was day one of training camp. I’ve got a feeling he’s had a few more pizzas between then and now.”
Those comments struck many fans the wrong way. Maroon was upset but had a perfect response, making a donation to a local mental health and substance abuse agency.
Edwards met with Maroon before the two teams played again in January 2023 and apologized for his remarks, saying they were “not intended to be mean-spirited.” The two shook hands and parted on good terms.
First meeting between Bruins and #GoBolts since December and the comments made by Jack Edwards about Pat Maroon, Edwards went to Maroon to offer an apology pic.twitter.com/zsShqwgTDu
— Lightning Insider (@Erik_Erlendsson) January 26, 2023
Now Edwards and Maroon are on the same side.
Pat Maroon trade reaction from Jack Edwards, just now via text:
“Looking forward to the next time we meet up. 😊
“He’ll never lose a fight now that he’s wearing the right sweater on NESN’s Bruins telecasts. 😉” https://t.co/QPW4eBI9VZ
— Matt Porter (@mattyports) March 8, 2024
The Bruins, eyeing a deep run in the postseason, acquired the three-time Stanley Cup-winning Maroon for his physical play (he led the NHL with 150 penalty minutes last season). Ironically, when Edwards tried to clarify his pizza remarks about Maroon, he pointed out how the player’s stature had helped teams win Stanley Cups.
“With all due respect, and respect is due, Pat Maroon is a throwback player,” Edwards told The Athletic in January 2023. “He isn’t going to win many footraces. But once he posts up in front of the goal, he’s an elephant to move and guys try everything. The reason he has been a member of three Stanley Cup-winning teams in a row and four finals in a row … is because he is the immovable object, and a lot of that has to do with his immense stature.”
Maroon, 35, is not expected to return to the ice for several weeks as he continues recovering from back surgery.
[Matt Porter, Boston Globe]
