Pacioretty contract to be finalized soon with Leafs: report
The Toronto Maple Leafs should have a new contract to announce in the coming weeks, though it’s someone who already has a widespread expectation to make the final roster.
Max Pacioretty, who was added on a Professional Tryout (PTO) contract earlier this month, appears to be set to crack the team’s opening night roster.
“I feel amazing,” the 35-year-old Pacioretty told reporters earlier in the month. “I knew I would feel good, but I didn’t know I’d feel this good. I feel great… I have a lot to prove, and I’m excited to get out there now and prove it in front of the fans.”
In Pacioretty’s first preseason game with the roster on Sunday night, he scored two goals while adding an assist in a 6-5 loss to the Ottawa Senators.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Monday’s episode of 32 Thoughts that Pacioretty’s spot on the final team is all but officially sealed, and the veteran will be in the Leafs’ lineup on opening night on October 9.
“He’s on a PTO… it’s not a PTO. I think there’s a deal there. I’m more convinced than ever [that] he has a deal. What my theory is, we’ll see if it’s proven right, is that [the Leafs] are gonna see where their roster is [after training camp], and they’re going to give him a salary [based on what’s available,]” Friedman said.
This will not be a PTO, if there was any doubt already https://t.co/yOfT7a0fIj
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) September 23, 2024
“It’s not like they don’t already know what [his salary] is; I’m sure they already kind of know what it is… what it says to me is that they have worked with the team and the agent Allan Walsh. I think this is a PTO in name only; it’s just a matter of plugging in the number,” Friedman added.
While Pacioretty spent the first 10 years of his career in Montreal after being drafted there in 2007, he was then flipped to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018 for a package centred around current Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki.
Pacioretty was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in a cap-clearing move by Vegas four years later, but his time there was brief. An Achilles injury kept him out for most of the 2022-23 campaign.
Last summer, he signed a one-year, $4 million contract with Washington and netted 23 points over 47 games.
At age 35, Pacioretty isn’t quite the player he was in his younger years but still should be expected to play a pretty significant role for Toronto on a team with limited depth at left wing.