According to Marc De Foy of Le Journal de Montreal, Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty will not negotiate a contract extension once the season begins in October. Pacioretty’s current contract ends at the end of the 2018-19 season.
Earlier reports indicated that the Canadiens have not offered Pacioretty a contract extension. The team gave him permission to negotiate a contract extension with the Los Angeles Kings at the NHL Draft, as the teams had a deal in principle. With Pacioretty and the Kings unable to come to an agreement, the trade never happened. Pacioretty has now put a deadline on any contract extension talks. This would mean that if the Canadiens plan to trade him after the start of the regular season, they will be moving him as a one-year rental.
Pas de négociations durant la saison pour Max Pacioretty https://t.co/hicmpilsBS pic.twitter.com/wvXv3Lq1GL
— TVA nouvelles (@tvanouvelles) September 5, 2018
Max Pacioretty Sets Deadline for Contract Talks
Pacioretty has spent his entire 10-year career with the Montreal Canadiens. He has scored 226 goals along with 222 assists for 448 points in 626 career games. In 38 Stanley Cup Playoff games, Pacioretty has scored 10 goals and 9 assists for 19 points. Pacioretty was originally drafted 22nd overall in the 2007 NHL Draft by the Habs.
Last season, Pacioretty had 17 goals and 20 assists for 37 points in 64 games. He also added 30 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 53 percent Corsi with a relative Corsi of +2.9. Pacioretty is in the final year of a six-year, $27 million dollar deal that he signed in August 2012.
What This Means for the Future
This is another development in the Max Pacioretty saga that has lasted all summer. The Habs have already made it clear that they don’t plan on signing Max Pacioretty to an extension once his contract retires. At this moment is it becoming more likely that the Habs will attempt to trade Max Pacioretty at some point before the NHL trade deadline. This puts a new deadline on the move though, the start of the regular season, if the acquiring team wants to talk contract extension.
We still have a month before the season gets started and there is a chance that Pacioretty could be traded before that. This could potentially make his value slightly higher, especially if his new club is able to negotiate a long-term contract with the five-time 30-goal scorer.
