For a moment, Chicago Blackhawks forward Pat Maroon looked a bit downcast and reflective when asked about his emotions after playing the final game of his 14-year career Saturday.
And then teammate Alec Martinez cracked a joke and broke the ice.
“You can’t take any of my answers, Patty,” said the Hawks defenseman, who announced his retirement shortly before the Hawks’ 5-4 shootout loss to the Winnipeg Jets.
Maroon chuckled as he collected his thoughts.
“I’m grateful for this game, and grateful for all the organizations that I was a part of playing in this league, and grateful for my teammates that were along the way, the trainers and everyone that was part of it,” Maroon said. “Honestly, I’m foggy right now. I don’t know what to say.”
Despite his earlier bit of levity, only minutes before Martinez had borne the gravity of his decision to leave the game on his face and in his voice.
“I guess all the cliché stuff that everyone says, but it’s a cliché because it’s true,” Martinez said. “Obviously mixed emotions. I knew this day was coming for a while.
“It’s just like anything. You think you’re prepared for it and you’ve got it looming in the back of your mind and once that day comes, obviously it’s a little bit harder than you anticipate. … But my knee-jerk initial (reaction) is just very grateful, very thankful.
“It’s a privilege to play in this league and to have played for 17 years, I never thought I was ever going to do that and I think a lot of other people didn’t think I was going to either.”
During the game, Maroon and Martinez received video tributes, stick-tap salutes and standing ovations from the United Center crowd of 20,634 who showed up for the Hawks’ home finale.
After the game, which ended on Cole Perfetti’s shootout clincher, another extended ovation broke out for Martinez and Maroon, and players from the Hawks and Jets lingered on the ice to congratulate them.
Maroon thanked the Blackhawks for organizing the tribute and the Jets for sticking around.
“Made it really special, and not only for me (but) for Marty also,” he said. “And the ovation from the fans, thank you, I appreciate it. I’ve only spent six months here, and it was a great send-off.”
Added Martinez: “I’m not really one for the limelight, so it’s nice that it was sort of deflected on him too. Patty and I obviously haven’t played together until this year but we knew each other before. … I told him, there’s no one else I’d rather, if we both have to hang them up, it’s pretty cool we could do it together.”
The pair shared appreciation for each other’s career.
Maroon, better know as “Big Rig,” finished his career with 126 goals and 197 assists in 848 games. The fourth-liner had five goals and 14 assists in his one season in Chicago.
He played for eight teams and won three Stanley Cups in consecutive years: one with his hometown St. Louis Blues (2019) and two with the Tampa Bay Lighting (2020, 2021).
“He’s one hell of a person, he’s one hell of a competitor,” Martinez said. “Three Cups ain’t bad.”
Martinez himself has three Cups.
The former Hawks nemesis hoisted a pair of Cups with the Los Angeles Kings (2012 and 2014) during the Hawks’ dynasty years, then added a third with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023.
Photos: Chicago Blackhawks lose to Winnipeg Jets 5-4 in a shootout in home finale
For his career, Martinez had 88 goals and 201 assists in 862 games in a span of 16 years.
Like fellow veteran Maroon, the Hawks brought in Martinez to help whip the bottom-dwelling team into shape. But neck and hip injuries limited Martinez to 44 games in his one season in Chicago, where he recorded five goals and seven assists.
Still, he and Maroon had other ways of influencing the Hawks, interim coach Anders Sörensen said.
“Let’s take aside who they are as hockey players and the Cups they won, they’re just awesome human beings,” he said. “They’re family men. They’re both having kids here any day. They’re just unbelievable people. …
“Learned a lot from them in terms of what works and what doesn’t work in the NHL. For the younger players, they’ve been awesome with them.”
Maroon said he’ll be watching the Hawks, as the younger core of the rebuild has begun to take over the team in recent weeks. Neither he nor Martinez will travel with the Hawks for their final two games of the season, making Saturday’s game their last.
“The future’s bright,” Maroon said. “They’ve got some really good talent in this room. And I think you’ve got to enjoy this process. You’ve got to be a competitor every single day. You’ve got to love the game. You’ve got to have passion for it. You have to have fun. You have to be a part of it. You have to be a part of the ups and downs and the growing pains.
“I think there’s a lot of opportunity for everyone here, but you’ve got to go out there and deliver and respect the game and be appreciative of the game and how hard it is to get to where you need to go.”