The Golden Knights have signed Max Pacioretty to a four-year, $28 million contract extension. The deal will carry an average annual value of $7 million.
The announcement comes just hours after Vegas acquired Pacioretty from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for forward Tomas Tatar, prospect Nick Suzuki and a 2019 second-round pick (originally belonging to Columbus).
Pacioretty has one year remaining on a deal that carries a $4.5 million cap hit. The four-year extension will kick in for the 2019-20 season and will run through the 2022-23 campaign.
The 29-year-old winger was set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the upcoming season. He had previously stated he would not be willing to negotiate a contract during the regular season, so the fact that George McPhee wrapped this up so promptly is key for Vegas.
George McPhee said talks on the Pacioretty deal started after the draft, talks were ongoing and picked up the last couple of days. Had a window of 6-7 hours to get a new extension with Pacioretty done. #VegasBorn
— Danny Webster (@DannyWebster21) September 10, 2018
This is especially true considering what Vegas gave up to acquire Pacioretty, particularly former 13th-overall pick Suzuki.
On including Nick Suzuki in the deal and if there was reluctance: “Always. Not going to get a player like Pacioretty” without including Suzuki. They had the assets to do it and pulled the trigger.
Pretty much on par with Bergevin’s comments this morning.
— Danny Webster (@DannyWebster21) September 10, 2018
Pacioretty, who had been the subject of trade rumors in Montreal for quite some time, is coming off a disappointing season in which he scored 17 goals and 37 points in 64 games. However, he managed at least 30 goals and 60 points in each of the previous four seasons. He has scored at least 30 goals five times in 10 seasons in the NHL.
Comparable deals handed out this summer that may have at least partially influenced negotiations include James van Riemsdyk’s five-year, $35 million extension as well as Blake Wheeler’s five-year, $41.25 million extension.
The structure of the Pacioretty deal more closely resembles van Riemsdyk’s, which makes sense considering both players are essentially perennial 30-year goal scorers and both are 29 years old.
While Pacioretty is still in his prime, a long-term deal could have taken him into his late thirties. The fact that he is on the books for just the next five years is significant for Vegas, especially considering Tatar had three years left on a deal carrying a $5.3 million cap hit. Vegas did retain $500,000 for each year of Tatar’s contract, though Montreal retained $450,000 of Pacioretty’s cap hit for the 2018-19 season.
What do you think of the deal?
| Love it! | 91 |
| Hate it! | 5 |
| Just happy he won’t be a rental | 37 |
| Glad he’s signed but would prefer a shorter term | 4 |
| Glad he’s signed but would prefer a lower AAV | 17 |
| I miss Nick Suzuki | 34 |