Max Pacioretty was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights by the Montreal Canadiens for forward Tomas Tatar, forward prospect Nick Suzuki and a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft on Sunday.
The 29-year-old forward had 37 points (17 goals, 20 assists) in 64 games with Montreal last season, missing the final 18 games of the regular season with a knee injury.
Pacioretty, named the Canadiens’ 29th captain on Sept. 18, 2015, has one season remaining on a six-year contract and can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2019.
He said on Sept. 6 he would not negotiate a long-term contract with the Canadiens once the regular season had started on Oct. 3 and was unsure if he would be with Montreal when training camp opened this week.
“I’m really taking it one day at a time,” Pacioretty said at Jonathan Drouin’s golf tournament. “It looks like right now I will be, I’m assuming. Camp is right around the corner. Like I said, I just want to focus on putting on my skates and playing hockey.”
His agent, Allan Walsh, said Aug. 28 that Pacioretty has no interest in leaving Montreal.
“To be clear, while there have been many discussions over the last two months, there have been no negotiations on a new contract,” Walsh posted on his Twitter account. “Montreal has not made any offers to this date. Max has stated repeatedly that he loves Montreal and wants to sign a new contract with the Canadiens.”
[WATCH: Canadiens’ video tribute to Pacioretty | RELATED: 2018-19 NHL Trade Tracker]
Selected by Montreal in the first round (No. 22) of the 2007 NHL Draft, Pacioretty has 448 points (226 goals, 222 assists) in 626 regular-season games and 19 points (10 goals, nine assists) in 38 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Pacioretty has scored at least 30 goals in a season five times, including four straight from 2013-17.
Montreal (29-40-13) finished 14th in the Eastern Conference last season, 26 points behind the New Jersey Devils for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Canadiens qualified for the playoffs in seven of Pacioretty’s 10 seasons, including reaching the Eastern Conference Final in 2010 and 2014.
Tatar scored 34 points (20 goals, 14 assists) in 82 games with the Golden Knights and Detroit Red Wings last season. The 27-year-old forward, selected by Detroit in the second round (No. 60) of the 2009 NHL Draft, had nine points (four goals, five assists) in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, helping Vegas reach the Cup Final, where it lost to the Washington Capitals in five games.
He was traded to Vegas by Detroit on Feb. 26 for a first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. He has three years remaining on a four-year contract he signed with Detroit after the 2016-17 season.
Suzuki, selected by Vegas No. 13 in the 2017 NHL Draft, had 100 points (42 goals, 58 assists) in 64 games for Owen in the Ontario Hockey League last season. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Golden Knights on July 16, 2017.
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