Bringing in Max Pacioretty makes sense for the Toronto Maple Leafs

It’s been a long time since Max Pacioretty was a relevant goal-scorer in the NHL.

Once viewed as one of the most consistent goal-scorers in the NHL, Pacioretty has played just 139 out of a possible 302 games – or 46 percent – over the past four seasons. His last healthy season was in 2019-20 when he scored 32 goals and 66 points in 71 games with Vegas—a season cut short by COVID-19.

But when healthy, Pacioretty has proven himself to be a beast. Whenever Pacioretty has hit the 70-game threshold in his career, he’s been able to score at least 30 goals and 60 points. But it’s been a long time since he’s been able to do that.

Achilles surgery shortened his 2023-24 campaign, which saw him play at an on-pace rate of seven goals and 40 points over a full 82-game season. That’s not bad for a middle-six player who has missed so much time in recent years, but that’s not actually what he achieved in practice.

It’s hard to feel confident in his health at this point, which is why he’s only been able to muster a tryout deal this season. The Toronto Maple Leafs officially announced on Wednesday that Pacioretty will join the club for training camp later this month, hoping to turn that into a full deal afterward.

The Leafs have $1.5 million in cap space heading into the season after signing Nick Robertson to a one-year, $875,000 hit earlier this week. Robertson has previously asked for a trade and that’s still on the table, but a spot as the team’s second-line left winger is still up for grabs at this point. The Leafs also have to figure out what’s going to happen to Jani Hakanpaa, who reportedly signed a two-year, $1.5 million AAV deal on July 1 but hasn’t had the deal go through as health concerns linger.

So if Pacioretty is going to sign with Toronto, they will have to do a bit of cap juggling to make it happen. But Pacioretty has to prove he still has a lot more left in the tank if he will keep his NHL hopes alive. For Toronto, it’s absolutely an avenue worth examining. A PTO costs them nothing in terms of cap space, and they do need some scoring help on the left side. If Pacioretty plays like he’s capable of in the preseason, it might be hard to turn him away.

There shouldn’t be any reason for an NHL player to need motivation to perform, but Pacioretty clearly doesn’t think he’s done playing good hockey. Going to Toronto gives him a legitimate chance to make a push for a roster spot on the left side, especially given his reputation of being able to play with just about anyone and generate scoring chances. According to The Leafs Nation’s Nick Alberga, Pacioretty has been getting rave reviews while skating over the summer. Training sessions aren’t real games, but you still like to hear things like that.

In a perfect world, the Leafs could find a way to convince Robertson – who is still young and capable of playing some solid hockey, even while inconsistent – to stay and make him productive and push Pacioretty to the third line. That’ll take some of the pressure off him, but also give the team some legit scoring depth instead of trying to shoe-horn someone who hasn’t played a full season in half a decade higher up in the lineup.

When adding a veteran, there’s always a question about opportunity costs. There’s a legitimate argument that having Pacioretty at camp will limit the opportunities for Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten, but I’d argue neither should be full-time NHL fixtures this year. Minten played four games last year, but could benefit from playing heavier minutes with the Toronto Marlies to start the season. Cowan could start the year in the NHL, but he could still work on his skating in London and chase titles in both the OHL and at the World Junior Championship.

Toronto’s biggest weakness up front was on the left wing and Pacioretty can be an inexpensive fix that, if it doesn’t work out, can be easy to move away from. The competition right now is Bobby McMann, Pontus Holmberg and Connor Dewar, with Matthew Knies having the top spot locked up. The Leafs just need Pacioretty to be more than just serviceable to make a potential signing make sense. At his best, he’s better than most other options at putting pucks in the net, and scoring depth was a concern for the Leafs during the playoffs.

It will be weird seeing Pacioretty don the blue and white after years of terrorizing the club with the Montreal Canadiens. And, if he’s going to contribute any meaningful way, he’s going to have to have a good camp because he’s far from a lock on this group. But at a low cost (of nothing, for now), there was absolutely no reason not to give him a shot and see if they end up striking gold.

At this point, who not see what he can do?