Maroon and Martinez play in their final NHL game in the Blackhawks' home finale

CHICAGO (AP) — Pat Maroon played his first and his last NHL game at the United Center.

In between, it was quite a ride.

Maroon closed his 14th and final season when the Chicago Blackhawks lost to the Winnipeg Jets in a shootout on Saturday night. He was joined by defenseman Alec Martinez, who also made Chicago's home finale his last game.

While the Blackhawks have two road dates left on their schedule, Maroon and Martinez are going off to retirement.

“It sucks, because this is all we knew,” Maroon said. “And I'm so happy that I got to share it with Marty tonight. A guy that's a big-time player, scored big-time goals. Hell of a hockey player, competitor.”

Maroon and Martinez each got the start in their last game. The Blackhawks saluted Maroon with a highlight video during a first-period timeout, and they did the same for Martinez in the third.

The crowd responded with a standing ovation after each tribute. An emotional Maroon waved and patted his heart in appreciation, and Martinez also waved and held his stick in the air.

After the game ended, the Jets stuck around for a handshake line with the three-time Stanley Cup winners. Maroon and Martinez then hugged, waved to their families in the cheering crowd and had one more embrace before leaving the ice.

“I’m not really one for the limelight,” Martinez said, “so it’s nice that it was sort of deflected on him, too.”

Maroon, a St. Louis native who turns 37 on April 23, signed a $1.3 million, one-year contract with Chicago in free agency last summer. The rugged forward announced last month that he planned to retire after this season, but he waited until Saturday to reveal that the home finale would be his last game.

“He's been awesome. Such an enjoyable person to be around,” Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard said. “Obviously, his experience in the league ... he can teach us a lot of things. But I think just the laughs he brings and energy he brings to the room, he's just a guy that everyone wants to be around.”

Maroon was selected by Philadelphia in the sixth round of the 2007 draft. He was traded to Anaheim in 2010 and made his NHL debut in the Ducks' shootout loss at Chicago on Oct. 25, 2011.

Maroon helped his hometown Blues win the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history in 2019. He also won back-to-back championships with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and ’21.

He became the fourth player in NHL history and first since 1964 to win the Cup three years in a row with two teams. He finishes his career with 126 goals and 197 assists in 848 regular-season games, also playing for Edmonton, New Jersey, Minnesota and Boston.

“I've been fortunate to do what I love for a living for a long time,” Maroon said. “As I look back on my career when this is all done, I'm going to look back on the bad times that I went through in Philly to where it got me to where I'm at today.”

Maroon left open the possibility of working in hockey down the road, but he wasn't ready to think about that just yet.

“As of right now, my focus is family,” he said. “My wife's due any day now. So we're going to focus on that, focus on getting back to Tampa, getting settled in and kind of digesting everything and what our next step is.”

The 37-year-old Martinez, who won it all with Los Angeles twice and Vegas once, also joined Chicago in free agency on July 1. He had 88 goals and 201 assists in 862 regular-season games.

Martinez had one of the biggest moments of his career playing against the Blackhawks. He scored in overtime when Los Angeles eliminated Chicago with a 5-4 victory in Game 7 of the epic 2014 Western Conference Final.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Alec Martinez (25) reaches for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Winnipeg Jets, Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago Blackhawks left wing Patrick Maroon (77), left, and defenseman Alec Martinez (25) embrace each other after what was their final NHL hockey game Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago Blackhawks left wing Patrick Maroon (77) handles the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Winnipeg Jets, Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago Blackhawks left wing Patrick Maroon (77) plays during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Winnipeg Jets, Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Alec Martinez (25) plays during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Winnipeg Jets, Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Alec Martinez (25) acknowledges the crowd in his last game during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Winnipeg Jets, Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago Blackhawks left wing Patrick Maroon (77), left, and defenseman Alec Martinez (25) embrace each other after what was their final NHL hockey game Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago Blackhawks left wing Patrick Maroon (77) watches a tribute video to himself during the first period of his final NHL hockey game, against the Winnipeg Jets, Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago Blackhawks left wing Patrick Maroon acknowledges a standing ovation from fans during the first period of his final NHL hockey game, against the Winnipeg Jets, Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago Blackhawks left wing Patrick Maroon acknowledges a standing ovation from fans during the first period of his final NHL hockey game, against the Winnipeg Jets, Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) with the puck against Chicago Blackhawks left wing Patrick Maroon (77) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

SAO PAULO (AP) — Peru's former First Lady Nadine Heredia and her youngest son arrived in Brazil on Wednesday after the neighboring country granted her asylum, her lawyer and the foreign ministries of both countries said.

A spokesperson at Brazil’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that Heredia's flight arrived in the capital, Brasilia, at around 12 p.m. local time, but did not provide more details.

Earlier, Heredia’s lawyer Julio Espinoza told Peruvian radio RPP that she departed early Wednesday on an official plane provided by the Brazilian government.

On Tuesday, a Peruvian court sentenced Heredia and her husband, Former President Ollanta Humala to 15 years in prison for laundering funds received from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht to finance his 2006 and 2011 campaigns.

Humala, who attended the court session, was immediately jailed, while Heredia, 48, took refuge in the Brazilian Embassy with their son, Samin Humala, 14.

On Tuesday night, Peru's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Brazil granted diplomatic asylum to the former first lady and her son under a 1954 convention to which both countries are signatories. The ministry said Peruvian authorities granted them safe passage to Brazil.

Peru's Foreign Ministry didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Former First Lady Heredia’s brother, Ilán Heredia, also was sentenced to 12 years in prison for money laundering in the same case.

The judges of Peru's National Superior Court found that Humala and Heredia received almost $3 million in illegal contributions for political campaigns from Odebrecht and the government of then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez (1999-2013).

Humala, a 62-year-old retired military officer, came to power in 2011 after defeating right-wing politician Keiko Fujimori in the second round.

The trial began in 2022, and alongside Humala and his 48-year-old wife, the court convicted eight others. Both Humala and Heredia were held in pretrial detention from 2017 to 2018 at the prosecutor’s request to prevent their flight.

Odebrecht’s 2016 admission of widespread bribery across Latin America preceded the initial investigations against Humala, which started in 2015, a year before the company’s revelations.

Most of the presidents who governed Peru since 2001 have faced legal problems due to their connections with Odebrecht. Toledo is currently imprisoned, while former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski is under house arrest. Alan García, who served two non-consecutive terms (1985-1990 and 2006-2011), died by suicide in 2019 as authorities moved to arrest him in connection with Odebrecht bribes.

Beyond former presidents, prominent figures like former presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori and numerous ex-governors are also under investigation.

AP journalist Franklin Briceño reported from Lima. AP journalist Mauricio Savarese contributed to this report from Sao Paulo.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

FILE - Peru's former President Ollanta Humala, accompanied by his wife Nadine Heredia, speaks to reporters at the entrance of their home after they were released from prison in Lima, Peru, April 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Joel Alonzo, File)