The Toronto Maple Leafs have a problem. Already a bit thin at left wing following the off-season departure of Tyler Bertuzzi, the trade request and subsequent stalled contract negotiations of Nicholas Robertson have created something of a depth crisis and glaring need at the position. As luck would have it, though, a decorated 16-year NHL veteran left winger boasting six 30-goal seasons, leadership experience as a former captain, and even a Masterton Trophy remains on the free agent market. Simple solution, right?
Max Pacioretty’s name has been widely linked to the Maple Leafs on the rumour mill—and with good reason. But while the career 330-goal scorer represents an incredible option at a time when most players that remain available are, at best, on the fringes of the NHL, there is reason for the organization to give pause. Assuming Pacioretty has an interest in coming to Toronto, there are still complicating factors that might explain why a deal still hasn’t materialized.
Can Pacioretty Keep Up?
If the Maple Leafs decide to bring in Pacioretty, it probably won’t be to grind away with the likes of David Kampf and Ryan Reaves on the fourth line. The former Montreal Canadiens captain clearly has the pedigree of a top-six player, but at 35 years of age, there’s no guarantee that he can keep pace with the club’s dynamic star forwards.
Finding wingers who can complement the likes of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander is no easy feat. Even John Tavares, the elder statesman of the ‘Core Four’, has looked old and slow at times next to his younger linemates. And Pacioretty is two years older than the former Leafs captain.
While speed is a pressing concern for Pacioretty’s fit with Toronto and, by extension, the top-six forward corps, so is his health. The Connecticut native has seen action in just 99 games over the past three seasons and didn’t exactly incite a bidding war for his services after struggling out to four goals, 23 points, and a minus-14 plus/minus last year with the Washington Capitals. Given the organization’s previous experiences with past-their-prime stars like Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton, general manager Brad Treliving may be wise to use caution before proceeding.
Adding Pacioretty Would Push Everyone Back
To some, the holes at the left wing for the Maple Leafs are signs of insufficient depth. To young forwards in the system, however, they represent opportunity. As it currently stands, Alex Steeves, Alex Nylander, and Nikita Grebenkin could all use training camp to propel themselves into roles with the big club on the left side.
Perhaps they would sink or perhaps they would swim, but adding Pacioretty would restrict the club’s ability to find out what they have in some of their young forwards. Through the emergence of Matthew Knies, Maple Leafs fans have seen first-hand how beneficial it can be to have a controllable, inexpensive asset who has already grown into a significant role and figures to only improve. While it’s unfair to ask that of a past-his-prime Pacioretty, it could describe what the team might get from Steeves, the recently-added Nylander, Grebenkin, or any number of other prospects.
As a matter of fact, it’s not outside of the realm of possibility that some or all of those aforementioned prospects are already better than Pacioretty. Steeves still hasn’t scored an NHL goal despite seven games over three cups of coffee in the league, but he did record 27 goals and 57 points in 65 games with the Toronto Marlies last season in the American Hockey League (AHL). Nylander quietly notched a solid 11 goals in 23 games as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Meanwhile, Grebenkin scored 19 goals and 41 points as a 20-year-old member of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) championship-winning Magnitigorsk Metallurg last season and could be poised to make an impact in North America.
Then, there’s also Steven Lorentz, who earned a professional tryout (PTO) with the Maple Leafs after seeing action in 38 games with the Florida Panthers last season en route to winning the Stanley Cup. With 21 career goals in 230 games, Lorentz wouldn’t be a candidate for top-six duty. However, the left-shooting center could try his hand at the wing while offering some physicality further down the lineup.
With no disrespect intended to Pacioretty and his incredible career, this might be one of those cases where it’s worth seeing what you have in-house rather than being lured in by a recognizable name.
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The Salary Cap Implications of a Pacioretty Pursuit
Another reason why finding solutions from within might be the more pragmatic approach: chances are, internal solutions on the wing will come cheaper than Pacioretty.
The Maple Leafs have roughly $1.275 million in salary cap wiggle room. While that represents a nice little luxury that has proven elusive for the club in recent seasons, it pales in comparison to the $17 million-plus that the Detroit Red Wings, rumored to be another Pacioretty pursuer, have in cap space. That doesn’t include new contracts for their two notable restricted free agents, Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider, but it should be more than enough to win a bidding war with Toronto.
If the Maple Leafs are pushed to go north of $1.275 million to land Pacioretty, then things get tricky. David Pagnotta of NHL Network noted that they could unload Conor Timmins to add another $1.1 million in space, but then they would be parting with some defensive depth. The obvious loose end here is Robertson, but using the team’s remaining cap space on Pacioretty would leave them without room to either re-sign the disgruntled 22-year-old or take back an impactful current asset in a trade.
Even if Treliving can find a way to fit Pacioretty within the cap, it’s fair to question how much he’s actually worth. Knies and Bobby McMann, currently the club’s top two left-wing options, will earn roughly $2.2 million combined this season and it could be argued that both should have a bigger impact than Pacioretty.
On the surface, the availability of Pacioretty and the significant left-wing need of the Maple Leafs seems like an ideal match. Pacioretty would have the opportunity to chase a Cup and the club would shore up a weakness with a player who, for a time, was one of the best in the league at the position. Looking at the present reality of the situation, however, paints a somewhat different picture and makes it a lot more understandable why no signing has been announced.
