Max Pacioretty has always embraced the idea that, when life knocks you down, you’ve got to get back on the horse and try again.
His next mount will be the Toronto Maple Leafs, as the oft-injured 35-year-old agreed to a professional tryout contract with the Buds on Wednesday. The agreement comes six years and two days after the former Montreal Canadiens captain was dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018 for a package that returned current Habs captain Nick Suzuki.
At that time, Pacioretty was viewed as a possible final touch for a Golden Knights team coming off an appearance in the Stanley Cup Final during Year 1 of the team’s existence. Instead, Pacioretty has played for three teams since then — the Knights, Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals — and has played a total of 91 NHL games in the past three seasons.
It’s easy to look at the six-foot-two American’s injury history and write him off. Recall, though, that while Pacioretty has had to fight through numerous ailments, he also earned the nickname “Wolverine” early in his career for his comic book character-like ability to bounce back from serious blows.
Can he do it again with the Leafs? If so, he’ll be distancing himself from a list of injuries that may have buried a less determined goal-scorer.
• On March 8, 2011, Pacioretty was driven into a stanchion at the Bell Centre in Montreal by Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara. It was easy to instantly fear the worst, as Pacioretty lay motionless on the ice. The 22-year-old was eventually stretchered off the playing surface and was later revealed to have sustained a broken vertebra and severe concussion. While it was assumed Pacioretty would not play again that season, his recovery was so speedy there was some notion — as the Habs fought it out with the Bruins in the first round of the playoffs — that he could actually rejoin the team should it advance, roughly two months after the hit. When Chara — who was not suspended for the hit — and the B’s beat Montreal in seven games, that dream died.
Pacioretty did return ready to go the next season and put up 33 goals, a career-high to that point. Coincidentally, one of his frequent linemates during that comeback year was Erik Cole, a veteran winger who had also suffered a fractured vertebra earlier in his career. Pacioretty was given the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy at the end of the season for his perseverance. He scored 189 goals from 2011-12 through 2016-17, more than everyone in the NHL over that time save Alex Ovechkin (257), Steven Stamkos (202) and Joe Pavelski (192).
• In his last year with the Canadiens, 2017-18, Pacioretty missed the final 18 games of the season with a knee injury. The dings continued during his initial campaign in Vegas, as he missed 16 contests with an assortment of ailments.
• Things really came to a head for Pacioretty in the desert during an injury-ravaged 2021-22 season, as he was never able to play more than 14 consecutive games. He endured a broken foot and was also forced to have wrist surgery during the campaign. In all, Pacioretty played just 39 contests that season and still managed to score at a 40-goal pace.
• In July of 2022, Pacioretty was dealt to the Carolina Hurricanes for future considerations, essentially because the Canes were willing to eat the entire $7-million cap hit he had remaining on the final year of his contract. Later that summer, he tore his right Achilles tendon during training. Following surgery, Pacioretty was able to return to the Hurricanes lineup on Jan. 5, 2023. He scored in his second game back with the Canes and added a pair of goals in his third contest. Then, in a cruel twist, Pacioretty sustained the exact same Achilles injury — without enduring any body contact — in his fifth contest with Carolina. Pacioretty had another surgery, inked with the Capitals in the summer of 2023 and after nearly a full year without NHL action — Jan. 5, 2023, to Jan. 3, 2024 — he debuted with the Caps and played in every one of Washington’s remaining 47 contests, plus four more playoff games.