‘I feel like I’m hated here’: New Bruin Pat Maroon looking to change reputation in Boston

BOSTON — Patrick Maroon knows he didn’t have many fans in Boston before Friday’s trade deadline.

The 35-year-old forward has been a part of three championship teams in his career, twice going through the Bruins to do so. When Maroon raised the Stanley Cup for the first time in his career, it was in front of shocked and mortified Bruins fans after the black-and-gold’s 4-1 drubbing on home ice at the hands of the St Louis Blues.

A year later, Maroon and the Tampa Bay Lightning knocked the Bruins out in the 2nd round of the Eastern Conference playoffs - an unceremonious ending to longtime captain Zdeno Chara’s career in Boston.

“I feel like I’m hated here,” Maroon told the Associated Press Saturday. “Obviously, there’s been a lot of chirps and a lot of fighting with these guys.”

It will take a bit of time before Maroon can attempt to turn haters into supporters. The bruiser underwent back surgery in early February and is expected to still be on the shelf for a couple of weeks.

The Bruins acquired Maroon from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for forward Luke Toporowski and a 2026 sixth-round conditional draft pick.

Maroon, 35, has appeared in 49 games with Minnesota this season, recording four goals and 12 assists for 16 points.

The 6-foot-3, 234-pound bruiser has skated in 778 career NHL games with Minnesota, Tampa Bay, St. Louis, New Jersey, Edmonton and Anaheim. He has totaled 121 goals and 183 assists for 304 points in those games.

“Pat Maroon is a proven champion. He’s going to add a lot of leadership to our group. Obviously, he has a lot of moxie, too,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said after the Bruins’ 5-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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