Since 2011-12, Patches is 5th in
this list behind Ovechkin, Stamkos, Pavelski and Perry.
Ahead of Tavares, Seguin, Benn, Kane and Kessel.
But he is paid less than anyone in the top-50 unless I am wrong.
Actually, Ladd and Backes are making the same money as him but they should get a significant raise on July 1st.
Pacioretty may well have the best release in the NHL. His wrist shot is insane. Before his leg injury, he also used to be super fast (may still be, we will see in October). And he has size. This combo has allowed him to generate shots at an elite pace and score a lot of goals. But he has almost no game besides that. He's not a great passer, he's not particularly good defensively (no, playing on the PK doesn't mean you're good defensively 5v5, he was awful all year last year), he has zero physical game, he doesn't play with heart. He has huge flaws as a player. People who like Pacioretty love to point out the odd time he'll make a good pass, or throw a hit and sarcastically tell us "oh Pacioretty is a bad passer, lol" or "But guys Pacioretty never hits". Yes, every player with his ice time will make a good pass once in a while, doesn't mean Pacioretty is a good passer. And everyone will throw a hit every now and then, doesn't mean Pacioretty is physical.
Ever since the Chara hit, he's been extremely afraid of any physical contact and plays a perimeter game. I can't blame him, and I have a lot of respect for him for going out there despite the many concussions and continue his pro career. But Pacioretty is not a player in the mold of Ovechkin, Benn, Stamkos, Perry, Tavares and all the other names you listed. Even Pavelski is better than him because Pavelski shows up in the playoffs and doesn't have the type of game that turns him into a playoffs no show like Patch.
But yes, people will always have regular season stats and quantitative arguments to back Pacioretty up. He has numbers, no question, like Thornton. He has much of the same flaws as Thornton actually. Both are big guys who don't have an extra gear. They are great regular season players but a fraction of that same player when the space disappears in the playoffs. That is why both of these players will never ever be the go-to guys in cup wins. If they are secondary players on a cup team that is perfect for them, but if they're expected to be the best forwards on your team you're not going to win anything. And while Pacioretty has a 4,5M cap hit, he doesn't have to be THE guy up front because we should have cap room to surround him better. But those days are coming at an end, and we should trade him while he has value. It's who should be in trade talks with other GMs, not Subban.