The whole reason Maroon signed in St. Louis was for the NTC, because he wanted to be in that specific city. Everyone (and I don't mean just Toronto ACGM's; I've seen his name on many different team posts) should give up trying to trade him away from the Blues.

That NTC allows him to submit an 8 team no trade list, so whether he wants to play in STL or not it's highly likely he gets traded. The Blues are out of a playoff spot and Maroon is a UFA, even if Maroon like St. Louis so much he can just sign there again in the summer.

STL GM: We want you to sign here at a discount Maroon!
Maroon: I want to sign here at a discount to play in my home town!
STL GM: Great! sign here!
Maroon: *Signs*
STL GM: Trade him at the first chance we get.
STL GM: NOW NOW NOW TRADE THEM ALL! TRADE THEM ALL NOW!

Do you see the problem?

He'll be on the other team for a few months and then can resign with STL in the summer, it's not a huge deal. In the end the front office has to do what is best for the St. Louis Blues, not what is best for Patrick Maroon. I'm not saying you can mistreat players for the good of the franchise, but trading a guy with a few months left in a lost season isn't really a low move, it's just good business. What good does Patrick Maroon do for STL after the deadline? They may as well make a profit off him and then resign him in the summer if he really likes it there.

You also need to remember the conditions he was signed in, the Blues really believed they'd be cup contenders this year, so the idea of trading Maroon wasn't feasible, but obviously that didn't go as planned. If the Blues are unwilling to trade Maroon then they would of given him a full NMC and not an 8-team-no-trade-list. So no, they aren't trading him "at the first chance they get", they're just doing what bottom feeder teams do at the deadline.

I don't think it would be that crazy to see Maroon get traded if the Blues fall off in the next couple weeks. He's an expiring UFA and they obviously had this scenario (Blues missing playoffs) in mind when they signed his contract with a modification to his NTC near the deadline. It will be sad to see it happen but it's a business over everything.

My point has nothing to do with Maroon.
It has to do with signing players in general. If that is how they are treated for being more than fair to the team, why would anyone give you anything, or even sign there in the first place?
Also @A_K

Too much retained on zaitsev, at that price he is a great asset.

It's not unfair treatment to move someone at the deadline. It's 100% normal because that's just what bad teams do at the deadline. Literally every UFA player expects it whether they've helped out the team or not.

More than fair? Maroon looks out of shape and hasn't done anything but chip in a few pts on the PP. I think he would totally understand if he got traded from a non-playoff team at the deadline. He signed a 1 yr deal to play his way into a deal with term. and he knows he hasn't done that.

Let me be as clear as possible.
Patrick Maroon and how he has played, has absolutely nothing to do with my point.
My point is why would anyone take a home town discount, or not fight for every dollar in contract negotiations when STL has a history of trading players who cooperate at the first sign of trouble?

Being traded is part of the job, but when signing it makes a difference as they probably don't want to be moved, especially if they are home town boys. So rather than helping you out, they look after themselves (higher aav, longer term etc).

I'm genuinely not sure what you're talking about lol.

Me right now:

Maroon signed knowing he may be moved. That's why he only got an 8 team NTC. This is just how the trade deadline works.