NHL trade grade: Vegas Golden Knights overpay for Max Pacioretty
The Vegas Golden Knights have traded for Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty. However, our NHL trade grade isn’t a huge fan of the move.
Late on Sunday, Sept. 9, in a shocking move, the Vegas Golden Knights made a blockbuster trade, acquiring Max Pacioretty from the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs captain had been in trade rumors all summer long, but the Knights were never thought of as a serious contender for him.
In exchange, Vegas gave up forward Tomas Tatar, center prospect Nick Suzuki, and a 2019 second-round pick (the one they received from the Columbus Blue Jackets).
Here’s a look at the trade from each team’s perspective.
Montreal Canadiens
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For the Canadiens, this is a great haul for Pacioretty. Ideally, they should have gotten more, but his upcoming free agency and his refusal to negotiate during the regular season significantly hurt his trade value. So for Montreal to come out with a strong center prospect in Suzuki, a quality forward in Tatar, and a second-round pick is a huge win.
Tatar didn’t fit with the Golden Knights, but he’s quietly put up four straight seasons with at least 20 goals. In three of those four years, he also put up at least 40 points.
Last season, Tatar had 20 goals and 14 assists for 34 points split between the Detroit Red Wings and Golden Knights. He has three years left on his current deal, which has a $5.3 million cap hit.
Suzuki gives the Canadiens another excellent center prospect. I’d sandwich him between Ryan Poehling and Jesperi Kotkaniemi as far as their center prospects. Suzuki put up 42 goals and 58 assists for 100 points in 64 regular season games with the Owen Sound Attack in 2017-18. Additionally, he added 12 points in 11 games during the postseason and even played for the AHL Chicago Wolves in their postseason.
Vegas Golden Knights
Pacioretty is a great player, but the Golden Knights paid a bit too much to get him for my liking. On paper, Tatar, Suzuki, and a second-round pick isn’t a huge price to pay. However, let’s consider what the Golden Knights gave up for Tatar.
Suddenly, that trade doesn’t look so good, does it? The Golden Knights better hope Pacioretty signs an extension with them because if he doesn’t, they significantly overpaid to get him. There’s something to be said about getting rid of a mistake before he costs you more, but it’s hard to call Tatar a mistake given his small sample size in Vegas.
Canadiens Grade: A. The Canadiens theoretically got a first-round pick (Suzuki) and a second round pick for a guy they weren’t going to re-sign. Oh, and that guy was coming off a huge down year. Tatar adds value and could be flipped to another team later on.
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Golden Knights Grade: C-. Even if Pacioretty signs a long-term extension to stay in Vegas, I think this is a significant overpayment.
What do you think about this trade? Let us know in the comments!