Is Trading Max Pacioretty Really the Best Move?
Max Pacioretty has been the main topic of Montreal Canadiens trade rumours for a long time now, but is it the best idea to move him at this time?
It is becoming more and more clear that Max Pacioretty will not be signing another contract to play for the Montreal Canadiens, and it is not his fault. Pacioretty loves the Montreal Canadiens and wants nothing more than to continue to play for them, but it will not happen under the current management.
There are three possible reasons that Pacioretty may be on the move: decline, rebuild, or character issues. None of these are accurate or a good reason for a trade.
There is absolutely no signs of a decline in the performance of Pacioretty. To simply give up on a player as many fans and possibly management have is ludicrous. One bad season does not end a career. As long as wherever Max ends up has a good team, he will perform.
As one of the most consistent goal scorers in the league on a season by season basis, and having one of the best shots in the league, Pacioretty will have a comeback year. Playing under a coach who enacted a system that made the entire offence sputter, a lack of puck-moving defencemen (PMDs) like P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov, along with no linemates like Alex Galchenyuk or Alexander Radulov are part of the reason for his poor season. Nowhere near all the blame rests on Pacioretty’s shoulders.
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Trading older players in a rebuild is a normal thing to do, but Pacioretty is not that old. At only 29 years of age, there are many more good years in the tank. Montreal will not find a player who can score more with the puck than Pacioretty does, so what is the point?
Additionally, teams need veterans and leadership, and Pacioretty was voted in as captain. Nobody except for those in the organization can speak accurately on the locker room chemistry of a team. That being said, there is absolutely no reason to believe he is a locker room problem.
On top of that, Pacioretty is nothing but class on and off the ice. One could argue that his work ethic was poor last season, but was it really? Adjusting to a new system that numbed the team’s offence, and admittedly trying to change his playstyle to bring back some of what they lost when Radulov left takes time. That is the exact opposite of a work ethic issue, he is trying to adjust and learn.
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Trading Pacioretty just isn’t a good move. A team that is starved for goal-scoring and didn’t pick up possibly the best goalscorer in the draft should not be trading someone like Pacioretty.
He is not declining. There are no character issues. Maybe management desires a leadership shake-up, but that is not a good reason to make this move.