Elliotte Friedman confirms Max Pacioretty's fate with the Toronto Maple Leafs

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Julien Trekker
September 23, 2024 (10:16)

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The NHL insider Elliotte Friedman confirmed Max Pacioretty's fate with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 2024-25 NHL season.

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost last night in their first pre-season game against the Ottawa Senators. Let's not panic; it was only the team's first game since losing to the Boston Bruins in the seventh game of the first round of last year's playoffs.

There are still a lot of things to be excited about. Notably, Auston Matthews scored his first goal of the pre-season, and Max Pacioretty tallied three points, including two goals in his Leafs debut.

In fact, Pacioretty's line, with John Tavares and William Nylander, registered eight points against the Senators.

We can't imagine a scenario in which Pacioretty's professional tryout doesn't become a standard player contract by the end of the training camp.

According to Elliotte Friedman, Pacioretty's PTO is only a formality, and he will be a part of the team for the season.

The former Montreal Canadiens captain could end up being the key acquisition that helps the Leafs reach their goals this season. With his natural scoring ability and great leadership, he could finally be the one to lead the team into a deep playoff run. Considering the great chemistry he had with Tavares and Nylander, this year's top six could be one of the best we've seen in Toronto in recent years.

In his career, he took part in eight playoff runs: four with the Canadiens, three with the Vegas Golden Knights, and one with the Washington Capitals. In total, he played in 78 post-season games and tallied 50 points, including 25 goals.

Now that we've seen that he's in shape and can contribute offensively, the main challenge for Pacioretty will be to stay healthy. Throughout his NHL journey, this has always been one of the biggest challenges for him. In fact, he only played one 82-game season in his career, and it was in 2015-16. The past four seasons have been particularly tough for the player as he took part in only 91 of the 246 he could've been a part of.

We can't wait to witness his impact on the ice in the upcoming season!