After Nicholas Robertson requested a trade at the beginning of the offseason, the 23-year-old and the Toronto Maple Leafs came to an agreement, reaching a one-year deal worth $875,000. It gives him the reassurance that he would have every opportunity to succeed this season.
However, reports swirled that Robertson could still be on the move and that the Maple Leafs are in talks of bringing in veteran scorer Max Pacioretty. With Robertson in the fold for now and Pacioretty coming in on a potential professional tryout or one-year deal, the Maple Leafs are slowly starting to build up their depth on the left side of their forward group. Something that was a question mark coming into the 2024-25 season.
At 35 years old, Pacioretty has always been a productive and consistent point producer in his career. However, this isn’t the same player when he was with the Montreal Canadiens. Like Robertson, Pacioretty has a lot to prove coming into camp that he can still be an impactful player. Whatever his contract status will be, there’s a potential that it can work out as this is a low-risk, high-reward kind of move for the Maple Leafs.
Pacioretty Could Bring More Fire Power
On the surface, Pacioretty brings a wealth of experience as an offensive goal scorer in the league, notably with the Canadiens. He’s a six-time 30-goal scorer in the league and has been a legitimate and consistent 60-point producer over his career.
He has amassed 330 career goals and some of that translated into his early 30’s when he was with the Vegas Golden Knights. However, that was before the injuries occurred. He’s only recently starting to get back to form after he had suffered from two serious Achilles injuries in back to back seasons. When he returned last season with the Washington Capitals, he had four goals and 23 points in 47 games. He had a 4.2 shooting percentage last season, which was the lowest of his career since 2009-10, his second season in the NHL with the Canadiens when he had a 4.1 S%.
Related: Fallout From Nick Robertson Deal with Maple Leafs May Spark Moves
The fact that Pacioretty suffered the same injury twice is concerning. If there’s another injury like that, it could be another lengthy stint on the injured reserve list. However, the potential for him to be a fixture in the top-six still remains. He’s a player that can do damage at even…
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