Lightning's Pat Maroon Thinks NHL is Heading in the Wrong Direction

In one of the more intense games of the season, the Tampa Bay Lightning hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, in what could be a Stanley Cup playoffs preview. The game was entertaining as any throughout the season and it was filled with beautiful goals, some unbelievable saves, and some bone-crushing hits. It also had some chirps as Lightning forward Pat Maroon and Leafs forward Wayne Simmonds were jawing at each other, so much so the refs put a stop on it and accessed them both 10-minute misconducts. Needless to say, Maroon was not pleased and let it be known after the game.

Idk if they mentioned it on the Sportsnet broadcast but I’m watching the Lightning broadcast and the dude in the middle of the benches said Maroon told Simmonds:

“You’ll be outta the league next season”
— Noah Banks - Noted Knies Fan (@Noah_Banx) April 4, 2022

The veteran forward had this to say about what transpired on Monday night and the future of the league via The Athletic's Joe Smith:

This game is going the wrong way. I guess you can't chirp each other on the bench now. I guess that is illegal. I guess it is better to watch 1980s hockey when guys are chirping each other, but I don't know why they (referees) did that.

The two players were not even involved in the play and got misconducts, so perhaps Maroon is on to something here. And for Simmonds, it's the second time he's been dinged with a 10-minute penalty of late as he was assessed a misconduct against the Winnipeg Jets as he and Jets forward Adam Lowry were chirping each other and about to fight on the faceoff and the refs put an end to it before it began.

“This game’s going the wrong way… I guess it’s better to watch 1980s hockey when guys are chirping each other. The game’s going the opposite way I guess.”

Pat Maroon talks about he and Wayne Simmonds being given 10 minute misconducts for chirping each other from the bench pic.twitter.com/C9vnOpfRrS
— Tim and Friends (@timandfriends) April 5, 2022

Here's the incident in Tampa from Monday night, let us know your thoughts in the comments:

Wayne Simmonds and Pat Maroon got 10 minutes each for talking junk 🗣️

Thoughts on these penalties? pic.twitter.com/bWtXNB7Lh3
— Tim and Friends (@timandfriends) April 4, 2022