There never seems to be a time when Montreal Canadiens’ forward Max Pacioretty is not on a trade rumor list. The three-year captain for Montreal has been long-rumored to be a piece moved by general manager Marc Bergevin in tough times, but now those talks may finally have some weight behind them.
Montreal Canadiens ‘actively shopping’ captain Max Pacioretty, per report
GM Marc Bergevin is reportedly looking to get a more efficient goal scorer for his team.
Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images
On Saturday during Hockey Night In Canada, analyst Nick Kypreos told the panel that the Canadiens are “actively shopping” their captain.
“While an eventual trade may include draft picks and prospects, it’s been clear to other teams that Bergevin’s top priority is moving [Pacioretty] for a top goal-scorer,” Kypreos said.
Pacioretty has eight goals and 20 points total for the Canadiens this season as he has kept himself among Montreal’s top scorers all year. The 29-year-old left-winger has put up 30-plus goal seasons over his last five years of work, excluding the recent half-season lockout. However, Pacioretty has gone a bit dry this season in the goal scoring department and he’s fallen from being a standout goal-scorer to a much less effective forward.
There has been talk that Pacioretty’s responsibilities as captain have weighed too heavily on him, and his play has suffered as a result.
”[Pacioretty] feels he has the responsibility to come up with some sort of answer for the media and he’s just grasping at straws to try to provide reasons for why he and the team aren’t going very well,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on the panel.
The Canadiens sit at fifth place in the Atlantic Division with 26 points and a 16-19-4 record. Given how the Metropolitan Division is set to sweep the two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference, Montreal is fighting an uphill battle to get into a postseason position.
On Saturday, the Florida Panthers added a bit more distance between themselves and the Canadiens with their 2-0 shutout victory over Montreal.
Pacioretty can still produce as a 29-year-old forward, but the asking price of at least a draft pick and young prospect may hold some teams up due to his scoring slump this season. If teams don’t bite by the trade deadline, the Canadiens also have the NHL draft this summer as an option.
After this season, Pacioretty will have one year left on his six-year, $27 million contract with an AAV of $4.5 million, according to Cap Friendly.
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