[Speculation] Maple Leafs Linked To Max Pacioretty

[RWJC]

Maple Leafs Linked To Max Pacioretty

 

August 29th, 2024 at 10:37am CST • By Josh Erickson

 

The Maple Leafs are among the teams in discussions to sign free-agent sniper Max Pacioretty, sources tell David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. The two sides are working on a standard contract, not a professional tryout, per Pagnotta.

 

A 2007 first-round pick and former captain of the rival Canadiens, the 35-year-old American has played just 91 games over the past three seasons due to a laundry list of injuries, but mainly due to two Achilles tendon tears sustained during the 2022-23 league year. Pacioretty has bounced around quite a bit since being traded to the Golden Knights by Montreal in 2018, playing four seasons in Nevada before being dealt to the Hurricanes for his ill-fated 2022-23 campaign. He became a free agent last summer and inked a one-year deal with the Capitals.

 

While Pacioretty didn’t debut with Washington until January, still recovering from his second Achilles injury, he managed to stay healthy upon his return. However, his previous 30-goal form had vanished, limited to four goals and 19 assists for 23 points in 47 games. It wasn’t awful production overall for middle-six minutes, though, and his atrocious 4.2% shooting percentage is due for positive regression this season.

 

Pacioretty was a money-in-the-bank scorer during his prime in Montreal, averaging 30 goals and 59 points over an 82-game season there while earning Selke Trophy votes on two occasions (2015, 2016). He was even better in Vegas, averaging 36 goals and 71 points per 82 games, but injuries and COVID limited him to 224 games over his four-season run with the Knights.

 

His decent rebound in Washington was enough to generate interest in his services at the trade deadline, but he had a no-trade clause in his pact with the Capitals that he opted not to waive. The Rangers were one of the teams linked to him at the time, but it’s unclear if they’re one of the teams competing with Toronto to land him now.

 

With Jani Hakanpää expected not to sign and RFA forward Nicholas Robertson still hoping to have his signing rights traded, the Leafs confidently have $1.275MM in projected cap space with a roster size of 21, per PuckPedia. That should be enough to land Pacioretty, who’s eligible to structure his contract with performance bonuses to keep his initial cap hit low as a UFA over 35 years old.

 

Pacioretty could be a direct replacement for Robertson, who mainly operated as Toronto’s third-line left winger when in the lineup last season alongside Max Domi and Calle Järnkrok.

 

https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2024/08/maple-leafs-linked-to-max-pacioretty.html#ref=home

[Ghostsof1915]

Max is still playing? 

[Roger Neilsons Towel]

[RWJC]

3 minutes ago, Roger Neilsons Towel said:

[Roger Neilsons Towel]

2 hours ago, Ghostsof1915 said:

Max is still playing? 

Define playing. 

[Ghostsof1915]

54 minutes ago, Roger Neilsons Towel said:

Define playing. 

Collecting a paycheque then? 

[Bobby James]

If you have the cap space and a roster spot then sure likely only going to cost 1 million for 1 year. 

 

If he's healthy finally and was able to train during the offseason then he might be able to still be a decent middle 6 guy that will pop you 15-20 goals. 

[DeltaSwede]

Going for players that barely can lace up their own skates is certainly a strategy I hope the leafs continue with. 

[Rip The Mesh]

3 hours ago, Roger Neilsons Towel said:

 

[GrammaInTheTub]

Ah! An aged Max Pacioretty - that’s the fix the Leafs need They better be sure to send off a useful defenseman to make it work

 

[DeNiro]

What is it with the Leafs signing over the hill players?

 

I guess that’s the Detroit model that’s now part of the Shanaplan?

 

Also it’s hilarious how at team that’s the so called center of the universe can have such an inferiority complex among fans and media. Like any little quote about a Leafs player immediately becomes front page news on TSN. 

[Coconuts]

 

[Grandmaster]

The PTO is a test to see if he has recovered from his injuries and is physically capable to play in the NHL. Smart move. If he is good to go then a 1M contract is a low risk / high reward scenario, especially with this guy’s resume.

[Chickenspear]

20 hours ago, GrammaInTheTub said:

Ah! An aged Max Pacioretty - that’s the fix the Leafs need They better be sure to send off a useful defenseman to make it work

 

I suppose we could take McCabe off their hands...

[IBatch]

On 9/11/2024 at 11:55 AM, DeNiro said:

What is it with the Leafs signing over the hill players?

 

I guess that’s the Detroit model that’s now part of the Shanaplan?

 

Also it’s hilarious how at team that’s the so called center of the universe can have such an inferiority complex among fans and media. Like any little quote about a Leafs player immediately becomes front page news on TSN. 

It's part of their super power.   For the most part, none of these guys have hurt them.   Spezza certainly didn't, neither did Thornton.   Playing 13 minutes a night, scoring at a healthy clip with locker room stuff isn't so bad at an ELC plus maybe a tiny bit wage.    Patches probably won't be any different.    There was a time that quite a few on here (including myself), would have been happy to sign any of these guys, including Eric Staal before he went out and scored 40 plus goals (over the hill not really, didn't know he was a bigot at the time either), Corey Perry included (hide your wives!) it's a competitive advantage to be able to get most of these guys compared to icing an Aman.