NHL Trade Rumors: Max Pacioretty to Chicago Blackhawks
Montreal Canadiens' general manager, Marc Bergevin, put his captain Max Pacioretty on the trade block months ago before the NHL draft. A trade is taking time to materialize because Pacioretty is 29 years old and has one year left on his $4.5M cap hit contract. Any team who wants to acquire Pacioretty wants to ensure he'll sign a new contract with them, before trading away assets.
NBC Sports’ Joey Alfieri speculates on five potential landing sports for Pacioretty including the Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers, San Jose Sharks, and New Jersey Devils.
Chicago Blackhawks
The Blackhawks have close to $5.49M in cap space, and they could fit him under the cap next season. Chicago has reportedly been in the mix for Pacioretty this offseason after making some minor moves signing Chris Kunitz, Brandon Manning, and Cam Ward. The Canadiens would want a center in return for Pacioretty. But the Blackhawks are unlikely to trade Jonathan Toews or Nick Schmaltz for a player with one year left on his contract. A trade would probably involve a roster player, prospect, and a draft pick.
Los Angeles Kings
The Kings were reportedly close to trading for Pacioretty on draft day. As the teams were getting close, Los Angeles made Pacioretty an offer to sign a contract extension, which Pacioretty didn't agree to, and the deal fell through. The Kings only have $2.51M in cap space, and a deal would need to include significant salary coming back to the Canadiens.
Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers need a winger to play with Connor McDavid. Edmonton has $4.97M in cap space, but they still need to re-sign restricted free agent defenseman, Darnell Nurse; therefore, a trade for Pacioretty doesn't seem likely unless the Canadiens take Milan Lucic in return.
San Jose Sharks
The Sharks' general manager, Doug Wilson, has been active and creative the last few months. He acquired and re-signed Evander Kane. He traded for Mike Hoffman from the Ottawa Senators, and quickly flipped him to the Florida Panthers. The Sharks were a finalist in the running for John Tavares. San Jose has $4.38M in cap space, and they would need to clear some space to acquire Pacioretty.
There have been no reports linking Pacioretty to the Devils. New Jersey has $19.57M in cap space, and could upgrade their team. Pacioretty would be a good addition to a forward group consisting of Taylor Hall, Travis Zajac, Kyle Palmieri, Nico Hischier, and Jesper Bratt.
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