Out of seemingly nowhere, the Golden Knights have made a monster trade to gear up for their highly anticipated sophomore campaign.
Golden Knights general manager George McPhee announced Monday night that the team has acquired forward Max Pacioretty from the Montreal Canadiens. In exchange for Pacioretty, the Knights sent Tomas Tatar, prospect Nick Suzuki and a second-round draft selection (originally owned by the Columbus Blue Jackets) back to Montreal.
Pacioretty, 29, is coming off a down season with the Canadiens after posting at least 30 goals in the previous four years. In 64 games, the Connecticut native managed just 17 goals and 37 points while logging a career-worst minus-16 rating. Despite his recent regression, however, Pacioretty hasn’t been surrounded by much talent in Montreal as of late and is still regarded as one of the NHL’s premier goal scorers.
It will be interesting to see how the Golden Knights handle Pacioretty’s contract situation. Pacioretty has a cap hit of $4.5 million this season and will become an unrestricted free agent next summer. It seems unlikely that Vegas would make this trade with the risk of Pacioretty simply walking away after one season in the desert.
This is a developing story. Stay with Knights on Ice for updates.