A few weeks back I made a case that a youth movement is in the Leafs best interest. Whether players like Easton Cowan or Fraser Minten are ready today or not, any sign that they are ready to be developed at the NHL level should give them a priority roster spot over bringing in a player like Max Pacioretty. All of that was prior to the Leafs signing of Nick Robertson, which adds even greater competition to the Leafs forward group and this is before considering other Leafs like Grebenkin, Steeves, Quillan, and others who might make surprising cases for NHL jobs as well.
The reality is that the situation is in no way as simple as I attempted to lay it out. There are some key factors that need to be considered before blindly accepting or dismissing Max Pacioretty from the Leafs lineup, and while Pacioretty may not be a personal favourite player of mine or a number of Maple Leafs fans and that bias coupled with age may leave some rooting for him to fail, there are two key reasons to be interested in seeing what he can do and potentially welcoming him into the lineup.
The first reason that Max Pacioretty being included in the Leafs camp should be welcomed is that for much of the existence of the Leafs’ core they have played under Sheldon Keefe. This is a clean slate and while the skill sets of the returning Leafs players haven’t changed, how they are deployed could be drastically different. The likely juggling of the Leafs lines may create a gap not anticipated, and assuming that someone like Pontus Holmberg, Connor Dewar, Ryan Reaves, or Easton Cowan might be the right player to fill that spot over someone like Max Pacioretty is premature. Options are always a good thing and when you can bring in someone that can fill a bottom six, limited icetime role and not have anxiety about their lack of icetime stunting their development, perhaps that is a positive.
The other case for Pacioretty is less about how he fares compared to the youth on the Leafs roster but rather some of the veteran bottom six players. Pacioretty’s situation isn’t going to be all that different than the Leafs players on entry level contracts or other heavily discounted deals. Pacioretty has the potential to offer value above his contract and the Leafs need more players like that.
Again with the same acknowledgement that Craig Berube’s arrival can change a lot of things for the Maple Leafs, there is a possibility that players like Calle Jarnkrok, David Kampf, and Ryan Reaves can outplay their cost and offer Toronto value beyond their deal. Kampf and Reaves particularly struggled to add value last season, and Jarnkrok’s injuries complicated his situation. The reality is that Max Pacioretty on a closer to league minimum deal will be a better option for Toronto, and having options like Pacioretty in addition to other high potential for value players like Holmberg, McMann, Knies, Robertson, etc. Toronto could find them in a good place, assuming the stars align.