Max Pacioretty is Out, Just Like Grass is Green
Max Pacioretty is running out of time. Mind you, he hasn’t even played a minute in Carolina. The newest Hurricane will now be out at least six months following Achilles surgery. Look, there are certain guys I am willing to give a free pass to. The Jack Eichel situation is still really messed up. Connor McDavid even missed a big chunk of his rookie year following a scary clavicle injury. However, there is a key difference. McDavid and Eichel both came back and produced. For Pacioretty, he does come back. However, the only thing he produces is usually another injury. I think Hockey Guy Trey said it best when it comes to Pacioretty. How can anyone take you seriously when you pretty much never play?
Look Back In The Time Machine
You can cut it any way you want. Pacioretty has played in 14 NHL seasons, eight of which saw him play in 60 or more games (in his defense two of those seasons were shortened). The former Canadiens captain only has six 70-plus game seasons. Does he make the Hurricanes a better team? I think so. I would even say that a healthy Pacioretty helps Carolina beat the Rangers in a Game 7 last year. However, the operative word there is healthy.
I’d rather bet on a coin toss than whether he’s healthy for any given game. I get that the NHL is a rough and tough league. Hockey and football are in dead heat as to which sport is the most physically grueling. But this guy is 6-foot-2 and more than 200 pounds. If anything, he should be making guys miss games, not the other way around. But Trey’s argument on Pacioretty is as simple as it is true: the guy is made of glass.
A player of his talent should be seen as a home run trade for Carolina. Instead, I think it’s a gamble. The Canes may end up playing with salary cap fire. Look at what happened in Vegas. A top line of Stone, Eichel, and Pacioretty is excellent on paper. However, that’s all you can say. It never came to fruition as Max could not stay in the lineup. Paired with the Brent Burns trade, I am not sure how happy I would be as a Hurricanes fan. If we’re in 2017, then I would love it. But this is 2022, and Max Pacioretty is about as mixed a bag as you can get in the NHL.
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