Free agent Pat Maroon makes a pitch to NHL general managers.

You would think a Stanley Cup Champion would have no problem finding a new team, but that is not always the case. 

Over the week end St. Louis Blues forward Patrick Maroon made comments regarding his current free agency and it was clear from the comments that Maroon was appealing to general managers around the National Hockey League in an effort to get them to give him a serious look. Maroon is after all coming off a season in which he played hometown hero for the St. Louis Blues, capturing the Stanley Cup Championship with that franchise and becoming the talk of St. Louis in the process. 

Now during his comments Maroon hinted at the fact that he would very much like to remain close to home in St. Louis, with the Blues organization, but it was also evident based on his comments that he was not merely appealing to St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong. Instead Maroon went out of his way to boast of his talents both on the ice with his physical play, and in the locker room with his charismatic and good-natured personality. 

"I'd love to be with St. Louis, I'd love to play here again. ... I'm 31 years old, I'm a big guy, I can help someone's locker room for sure and help someone's team and be a big presence in the locker room and a big presence on the ice," said Maroon.

Maroon is coming off a bit of a down year however with just 10 goals and 18 assists for a total of 28 points, his lowest point total since the 2015 - 2016 NHL regular season in which he split time between the Anaheim Ducks and the Edmonton Oilers. Add to that the fact that Maroon is no spring chicken at 31 years of age and you can see why teams may not be so quick to leap at the chance to sign him to a new deal.

There have been rumblings that a lot of teams will be relying on professional tryout offers to fill out their rosters this season, and this late into free agency one has to wonder if Maroon may be one of the many players who will have to prove they are worthy of another NHL contract.