The Vegas Golden Knights are going to finish the month without one of their biggest weapons with Max Pacioretty out. According to a tweet by Elliott Friedman, he could be out until December.
https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1449413681503219722
Pacioretty Out Up To Six Weeks
Max Pacioretty joined the team in their second season as part of a blockbuster trade with the Montreal Canadiens. Since his arrival he has been everything the Golden Knights could ask for, scoring 80 goals and 80 assists in just 187 games with the club. He’s off to a fast start this season with two goals and three points in their home opener against the Seattle Kraken.
Pacioretty has been a reliable scorer his entire career, totalling 306 goals and 608 points in his 14 seasons.
There’s more to Pacioretty than his boxcars, with a Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy win in 2012. He also earned the captaincy of the Canadiens in 2015-16, his eighth year with the team. Despite not having a letter in Vegas, his presence off the scoresheet shouldn’t be undervalued. This loss hurts.
What This Means
Vegas will have a difficult time finding a replacement for Pacioretty with an already-full injury list. With Mark Stone added, the list includes Alex Tuch, William Carrier, Nicolas Roy, and new arrival Brett Howden. Having Mattias Janmark still in COVID protocol leaves a forward corps utterly decimated. Fortunately, the team is in a weak division. Even if some ground is lost early, they have a chance to make up for it over the course of the year.
That doesn’t mean they want to, of course. The Golden Knights drafted – and traded for – versatile forwards. Valued prospect Peyton Krebs can see an increase in his ice time if they want to risk him in a more unprotected role. This is also a perfect opportunity for Sven Baertschi‘s return to the NHL in three years. The biggest risk is that he performs well and would risk waivers later in the season, but for now? The Vegas Golden Knights could use his skill.
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