ARLINGTON, Va. — Improving the Capitals’ top-six was a major priority for general manager Brian MacLellan entering free agency, even with his team hamstrung by available cap space.
And on Saturday, shortly after the signing period opened, the Capitals did just that by inking Max Pacioretty to a one-year, $2 million deal. Pacioretty can earn an additional $2 million in bonuses.
MacLellan said Sunday that he envisions Pacioretty as a top-six forward in Washington’s lineup, once he’s able to play. Pacioretty will miss the beginning of the 2023-24 season while he recovers from his second torn Achilles in the past calendar year, but doesn’t believe he’ll be sidelined for too much time overall.
“I’m doing really well,” Pacioretty said on his recovery. “I’m very comfortable with where I’m at right now. … It shouldn’t be too long after [opening night] when I’m expected to come back and play. I’m going to leave that up to the doctors. … All I can do right now is do whatever it takes to come back and be healthy and ready as quickly and come back as strong as possible. That’s the work I’m willing to put in.”
MacLellan added that the team won’t put a timeline on when Pacioretty can return, but the organization felt confident about signing Pacioretty after speaking with his surgeon and other doctors.
“There’s still some risk, but we got to a comfort level we think will probably work out,” MacLellan said.
Pacioretty originally injured his Achilles in August 2022, but he returned to Carolina’s lineup just five months later in early January. Two weeks and five games later, Pacioretty re-tore the same Achilles, an injury that ended his 2022-23 season. He doesn’t plan on doing anything too different in his rehab this time around but feels he has a “good grasp” on the recovery process now after returning to the ice relatively quickly the first time.
If Pacioretty is able to stay healthy, the Capitals will have added a much-needed goal-scoring presence to their lineup. Pacioretty has six 30-goal seasons in his career, most recently in 2019-20 with the Vegas Golden Knights. From 2013-14 through 2020-21, he scored a total of 236 goals, the seventh-most in the NHL during that span.
“Goal-scoring would be the primary [reason],” MacLellan said on why the Capitals’ were intrigued by Pacioretty. “We’ve got to find a way to score more goals and that’s what he does. I really like the player. Obviously, he’s one of the top goal-scorers over the past number of years. [He’s a] good player.”
Having never been a free agent before, Pacioretty didn’t know what to expect, especially considering his injury history. But after signing a one-year deal with the Capitals, the former All-Star is eager to remind the rest of the league just how talented of a player he is.
“At the end of the day, I just thought that Washington was a great opportunity for me to come back and show, prove that I’m still the player that I once was,” Pacioretty said.
When asked why he was intrigued by the Capitals, Pacioretty had several things to share. For starters, he’s excited to play alongside what he called a trio of playmaking centermen, which is “always fun as a goal scorer to play with guys who want to distribute the puck.” Playing on the same team as Alex Ovechkin, who he called “the best goal-scorer to ever play,” was also a big factor.
Pacioretty was quick to mention the Capitals’ own injuries from a season ago. Only three teams had more man games lost than Washington in 2022-23. He believes that by joining this group, he can add “a new fresh voice … prove to some people that they can make it to the playoffs this year and do some damage.”
Throughout his Zoom press conference, the 34-year-old repeatedly mentioned his excitement to play for a team that plays a physical brand of hockey. He believes that will only help the Capitals win games deeper into the season.
“At the end of the day, this is a big-boy lineup,” he said. “There’s a lot of big bodies in this lineup and we all know that when you get to the playoffs, if you get to the playoffs, that’s a good way to make some teams pay and wear them down.”
The Capitals will initially have to wait for Pacioretty, but there’s plenty of optimism on both sides about the potential impact he can make once returning to the ice.
“Beyond the injury, I think he’s probably better than what he was in his later years,” MacLellan said. “We’re excited to get him healthy and in our lineup.”
