"I truly think we can run it back again," the Lightning forward told The Athletic on Friday. "It depends on our health, how guys are feeling, our attitude. But we've been texting together as a group and thinking, 'We've brought our top two lines back, our big four on [defense], the best goalie in the world (Andrei Vasilevskiy). We added [forward Pierre-Eduoard Bellemare], we've got [forward Ross] Colton, [forward Mathieu] Joseph. You add (forward) Taylor Raddysh and those guys can fill in. Why not?'
"(Center) Brayden Point, 'Kuch' (forward Nikita Kucherov) and [forward Ondrej Palat] are coming back. There's no doubt in my mind we can run it back. Guys want to do it again. That's why we play."
Maroon won the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019 before signing with the Lightning on Aug. 24, 2019, and winning with Tampa Bay the past two seasons.
The 33-year-old can become the 45th player in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup four straight times, and the fourth to do it with two teams; the other three to accomplish are Eddie Gerard (Ottawa Senators, 1920-21, 1923; Toronto St. Patricks, 1922), Ab McDonald (Montreal Canadiens, 1958-60; Chicago Black Hawks, 1961) and Ed Litzenberger (Black Hawks, 1961; Toronto Maple Leafs, 1962-64).
The NHL record for most consecutive Stanley Cup championships by a player is five, held by 11 members of the Canadiens (1956-60), including Maurice Richard, Bernie Geoffrion, Doug Harvey, Dickie Moore, Jean Beliveau and Henri Richard.
The last player before Maroon to be part of back-to-back championships with different teams was Mark Hartigan, who played for the Anaheim Ducks in 2007 and Detroit Red Wings in 2008 but doesn't have his name on the Stanley Cup after not meeting the games-played criteria in either season (at least 41 games played in the regular season or one game played in the Stanley Cup Final).
Maroon is the eighth player in NHL history and the third in the expansion era (since 1967-68) to win consecutive titles with different teams. Cory Stillman won with the Lightning in 2004, then the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. The Cup was not awarded in 2005; the 2004-05 NHL season was canceled because of a work stoppage. Claude Lemieux won it with the New Jersey Devils in 1995 and the Colorado Avalanche in 1996. The players who did so prior to expansion were: Al Arbour and Litzenberger (1961 Black Hawks, 1962 Maple Leafs); McDonald (1960 Canadiens, 1961 Black Hawks); Lionel Conacher (1934 Black Hawks, 1935 Montreal Maroons); and Gerard (1921 Senators, 1922 St. Patricks, 1923 Senators).
Maroon scored 18 points (four goals, 14 assists) in 55 games for the Lightning last season and four points (two goals, two assists) in 23 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
