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Pat Maroon goes after Neal Pionk destroyed Connor Bedard with a hip check

Originally posted on Hockey Unplugged | By Axel Williams | Last updated Oct 12, 2024 12:32 PM ET

Connor Bedard is the superstar for the Chicago Blackhawks and for that team, he is someone that simply cannot and should not be touched.

If you do put your hands on Bedard in any way, you are going to have to live with the consequences. Well, Neal Pionk of the Winnipeg Jets did not get that message the other day. Last night, in an overtime win against the Blackhawks, Pionk delivered a huge hip check on Bedard. It was one of those classic type of hits that you simply do not see all that often anymore.

Immediately after the hit, Pat Maroon of the Blackhawks decided to do something about it. As you can see in the clip down below, he chased Pionk around and had some very strong words for him. Having said that, a real fight didn't exactly go down, which probably left some fans frustrated.

It seems like the Blackhawks could probably benefit from getting a goon on their team of some sort. A player who is meant to be an enforcer that can really make a difference for those superstar players. The Montreal Canadiens have won in Arber Xhekaj and it has worked out great so far.

Either way, this will be yet another development year for the Blackhawks. They are currently in the midst of trying to build around Bedard. They just need to make sure they can also keep him healthy and deter other teams from targeting him all over the ice.

This article first appeared on Hockey Unplugged and was syndicated with permission.

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