Oilers acquire Maroon from Ducks

EDMONTON --Pat Maroon did not see the trade coming.
The forward was informed he had been traded from the Anaheim Ducks to the Edmonton Oilers on Monday in exchange for defenseman Martin Gernat and a fourth-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, more than 90 minutes after the 3 p.m., ET, NHL Trade Deadline.
"I was shocked," Maroon said. "But I was counting how many forwards we had and we had 15 forwards, so I figured someone had to go. So I knew if someone was going to be traded, it was going to be a late trade. But when an hour and-a-half went by, I thought maybe I got through it. I knew my name was out there, but I figured it wasn't going to happen. Then my mother called and told me I had been traded and I asked her where to? She said Edmonton."

Maroon was having lunch with Ducks forward Corey Perry when he received a call from Anaheim general manager Bob Murray confirming the trade. He then received a call from Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli welcoming him to Edmonton.
"I'm really excited," Maroon said. "I had a good run in Anaheim, they gave me an opportunity to play in the NHL. I'm sad that I'm leaving a contending team, but I think going to team that is rebuilding and have so many young stars, I think it will be good for me."
Maroon expects to make his debut with the Oilers on Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center (7:30 p.m. ET, SNW, MSG-B, NHL.TV). He is part of Chiarelli's desire to make the Oilers a bigger, stronger team.
"I'm looking forward to this opportunity with the Oilers to show them that I can play and I just want to be consistent for them," he said. "There is an opportunity for me to play with some of those young kids they have, and if they give me a chance to play with them, I want to make the most of it. I want to go out there and play well, and hopefully, good things will happen for me."
Maroon, 27, had four goals and 13 points in 56 games for Anaheim this season. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound forward was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the sixth round (No. 161) of the 2007 NHL Draft. Maroon was traded to the Ducks on Nov. 21, 2010 along with forward David Laliberte for defenseman Danny Syvret and left wing Rob Bordson.
Maroon had nine goals and 34 points in 71 games with the Ducks in 2014-15. He scored seven goals and had 11 points in 16 playoff games for Anaheim.
"My minutes were down this year," Maroon said. "I was coming into the season off a good playoff last year, playing with Perry and [Ryan] Getzlaf. Early on this year, though, the team wasn't playing too well and I wasn't playing too well. We had a lot of ups and downs and I only have four goals this year, which is a career-low for me. I don't know what it was, I just couldn't find the edge and I was playing on the fourth line for the majority of the year and it was tough.
"You have to find ways to contribute when you're playing only 11 minutes, 13 minutes or 15 minutes. You have to find ways to contribute and I struggled. It's all about being consistent in this league and I have to get back to that."
Edmonton traded Gernat, who they selected in the fifth round (No. 122) of the 2011 draft. He had three assists in 22 games this season with Bakersfield of the American Hockey League.