Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has acquired forwards Patrick Maroon and Max Cajkovic from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. Tampa Bay will retain 20 percent of Maroon’s contract.
Maroon, 35 (4/23/88), recorded 14 points (5-9=15) and a league-high 150 penalty minutes (PIM) in 80 games with Tampa Bay last season. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound native of St. Louis, MO, has spent 12 seasons in the NHL with the Anaheim Ducks (2011-12), Edmonton Oilers (2015-18), New Jersey Devils (2017-18), St. Louis Blues (2018-19) and Tampa Bay (2019-23). The right-shot forward owns 288 career points (117-171=288), 930 PIM and plus-30 rating in 729 career games. In 150 career playoff games, Maroon has tallied 51 points (23-28=51) 197 PIM and a plus-eight rating. He has won three Stanley Cups, one with St. Louis (2019) and two with Tampa Bay (2020, 2021). He was originally selected in the seventh sixth round (161st overall) by the Philadelphia Flyers.
Cajkovic, 22 (1/3/01), recorded 27 points (10-17=27) and 53 PIM in 41 games with the Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL) last season. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound native of Bratislava, Slovakia, also appeared in two games with the Syracuse Crunch in the American Hockey League (AHL). In two seasons with Orlando, the right-shot forward has tallied 39 points (18-21=39) and 69 PIM in 66 games. He appeared in 20 games with Syracuse during the 2021-22 season, where he recorded six points (3-3=6) and 4 PIM. He was originally selected by Tampa Bay in the third round (89th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft.
(info courtesy of Wild)
