Patrick Maroon may no longer be with the Blues, but he's always from St. Louis.
The 31-year-old forward, who grew up in the town but the left the Blues to sign with the Tampa Bay Lightning over the offseason, was honored before the Lightning's game against St. Louis, receiving not only a tribute on the big screen but something much more significant: his Stanley Cup ring.
MORE: Patrick Maroon's journey to the Stanley Cup
Alongside a few of his former teammates, Maroon received his ring from Blues general manager Doug Armstrong in a pregame on-ice ceremony. Prior to the game, he told reporters that he'd only seen photos of the ring.
The #HometownHero gets some new bling. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/UItIBI3SiZ
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) November 20, 2019
The hometown hero received a standing ovation in his return to Enterprise Center and emotional responses from his former teammates, to boot.
Another look of Ryan O’Reilly tearing up after the ring presentation for Pat Maroon:
— Joey Palazzola (@Palazzola_RTN) November 20, 2019
(Thanks for the gif @stlsportscntrl ) pic.twitter.com/2W0j7HMfjZ
In 74 regular-season games with St. Louis last season, Maroon registered 10 goals and 28 points. After that, he went on to post seven points in 26 playoff games en route to the team's first Cup title, including the series-winning overtime tally in Game 7 of the second round against the Dallas Stars that propelled the team to the Western Conference Final.
He has four goals and seven points through 15 games with the Lightning so far this season.