On this very day six years ago the Vegas Golden Knights made a big splash by acquiring Max Pacioretty from the Montreal Canadiens.
The Knights acquired the Habs former captain in a blockbuster deal sending Tomas Tatar, Nick Suzuki and a 2nd rd pick in the 2019 draft to the Canadiens. Fast forward six years to today, it appears as though Max Pacioretty will once again be heading back to Canada, this time to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs. While it is unknown at this time whether Pacioretty will be heading to the Leafs on a PTO or a SPC(standard player contract) the expectation is that he will be a Toronto Maple Leaf according to the Daily Faceoffs’ Frank Seravalli.
On Max Pacioretty: While #Leafs work through some salary cap issues, there is an expectation from both sides that Pacioretty will be a Maple Leaf this season.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) September 10, 2024
Pacioretty spent four seasons with the Golden Knights where he was an important top-six contributor for the team. His best seasons came during the 2019-2020 season when his 32 goals and 66 points led the team in both categories and during the covid-19 shortened season of 2020-2021 when he was over a point-per-game, scoring 51 points in 48 games played. Pacioretty would play one more year in Vegas during the 2021-2022 season when he was limited to just 39 games played but still managed to score 37 points.
During the ensuing off-season the Golden Knights were in a bit of a salary cap crunch that resulted in the team dealing the final year of Paciorettys’ contract to the Carolina Hurricanes for future considerations.
Related: Knights Will Need Big Contributions From Victor Olofsson, Alexander Holtz To Replace Lost Production.
Since leaving Vegas Pacioretty has had a tough time staying healthy. During the off-season before even playing a game for his new team in the Carolina Hurricanes, Pacioretty suffered a torn achilles while training for the upcoming season. Pacioretty underwent surgery on August 10th of 2022 to repair his achilles tendon which delayed his Hurricanes debut until his return on January 5th of 2023 in a game against the Nashville Predators.
Pacioretty managed to score 3 goals in first 5 games back since returning and looked to be getting back to form until disaster struck. On January 19th of 2023 in a game against the Minnesota Wild, Pacioretty would tear his achilles for the 2nd time, ending his season and his stint with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Pacioretty became a UFA for the first time in his NHL career on July 1st, 2023 and despite still rehabbing from his injury, Pacioretty signed a one-year $2M dollar contract with the Washington Capitals. Pacioretty made his Capitals debut on January 3rd of 2024 against the New Jersey Devils, almost a full calendar year between his last game. Pacioretty went on to play in just 47 games for the Caps, scoring 4 goals and 23 points.
Now at the age of 35, Pacioretty will look to prove that he can still be a productive top-six player with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs will look for Pacioretty to provide some needed secondary scoring behind their top offensive players in new team captain Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares.
In 902 career games between the Montreal Canadiens, Vegas Golden Knights, Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals, the native of New Canaan, CT has amassed 330 goals, 338 assists and 668 points.
