The Tampa Bay Lightning welcomed back an old friend to perform the ceremonial puck drop at the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series on Sunday.
Three-time Stanley Cup champion Patrick Maroon made his way to center ice at Raymond James Stadium, meeting with Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak and Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman, to kick off the game.
Maroon – who currently broadcasts on the Lightning’s local TV network – has been all over Tampa throughout the weekend, serving as the grand marshal for the 2026 Gasparilla pirate parade on Saturday.
The Gasparilla pirate parade is an annual event honoring the legendary pirate Jose Gaspar, who invaded the coast of Florida hundreds of years ago.
The former Lightning forward spent 14 seasons in the League, retiring after the 2025 season.
He made his NHL debut during the 2011-12 season with the Anaheim Ducks and spent five seasons there, before playing for the Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils and St. Louis Blues, where he won his first Stanley Cup in 2019.
The next season, he signed with the Lightning, where he helped them win back-to-back Cups in 2020 and 2021.
He played two more seasons with Tampa Bay before he was traded to the Minnesota Wild in 2023.
The Bruins got Maroon via a trade with Minnesota in 2024, then he finished his career with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2025.
