Maroon signs one-year contract with Blues

Pat Maroon signed a one-year, $1.75 million contract with the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.

The 30-year-old forward had an NHL career-high 43 points (17 goals, 26 assists) in 74 games with the New Jersey Devils and Edmonton Oilers last season, including 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in 17 games with New Jersey after being acquired in a trade Feb. 26. He scored one goal in five Stanley Cup Playoff games.
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A St. Louis native, Maroon was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the sixth round (No. 161) of the 2007 NHL Draft. He has 178 points (78 goals, 100 assists) in 375 NHL games with the Devils, Oilers and Anaheim Ducks, and 27 points (13 goals, 14 assists) in 47 playoff games.
"It's going to be a really good year, a really fun year," Maroon said. "I'm excited to wear the Blue Note. I've dreamed of putting that jersey on. ... [The Blues are] a team that is going to do some really good things this year. It made my decision a lot easier. I'm so happy to be coming home."
Blues general manager Doug Armstrong is counting on a resurgence from Maroon.
"One of the great things is how badly he wanted to come back and play at home," he said. "It's a one-year opportunity for him to come back, hopefully play with some really good centermen and get back to that 27-goal performance he had in Edmonton (in 2016-17), or close to it.
"We think he can help our team. I talked to some of our players about him, competing against him, and they spoke very highly about how hard he was to play against, how difficult he was to move in those high-traffic areas. It's just another player we add to our group that makes us a little better than we were yesterday."

At 6-foot-3 and 225 pounts, Maroon said he's confident he can fill a need with St. Louis.
"I think I bring a big, physical presence that I think they've been missing the last few years," he said. "I can be really good on the power play and I can be really good in front of the net, I have really good hands, soft hands, in front of the net. I can bring that physical presence down low, protecting pucks, sticking up for my teammates."
Maroon also said he was heartened by the recruitment efforts of the Blues, particularly centers Alexander Steen and Robby Fabbri, forward Chris Thorburn and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo.
"It made my decision a lot easier with guys reaching out and making me feel at home," Maroon said. "They made me feel welcome. They made me feel wanted."
Maroon's comfort level increased even more having skated with several Blues at their practice facility during the offseason prior to his signing with St. Louis.
"They let me use their locker room," he said. "It's like a second home to me. I always told myself how easy it was driving to [the practice facility] and practicing and going home and leaving my gear there.
"It just made sense."
-- NHL.com correspondent Louie Korac contributed to this report.