Player Discussion Max Pacioretty Appreciation Thread: Thanks Max!

[cphabs]

Good luck buddy!

 

[the]

Clearly underappreciated, his playoffs performance were disappointing but I always thought he got way too much heat around here. I also don't necessarily think he's a chocker. I'm happy he's in Las Vegas since they are my 2nd team. I'm sure he will be a key player for them.

He did very well for a player who never had a true center. I won't be surprised if he gets 40 goals in Las Vegas and I won't be surprise either if he somehow becomes a playoff warrior one day.

He's a good leader and was a solid option for the A. Unfortunately I think the C wasn't for him.

Best of luck and hopefully he will make his detractors eat crow.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Led the team in scoring for 5 years straight. Thx Max good luck.

 

[sharks9]

Good luck!

Thanks for the series-clinching goals against Boston and TB in 2014!

 

[boss10]

After what we saw of him in the playoffs against NYR 2 years ago and watching him last year, he is on the decline. Sure he might pot a few goals here and there but I don't think he hits 30 again. Especially what I saw of Vegas in the playoffs, I just don't see him fitting in with their game. He seems too lazy and inconsistent for their style. It's the same reason Tatar did not fit with their style. What we got for him was a good return.

 

[Laurentide]

I'm sure he's still capable of being an effective scorer for a few more years but he definitely has more "yesterday's" on his calendar than "tomorrow's". There comes a point with players like Max where a team ends up paying him for what he's already done more than for what he can realistically produce in the future. That's essentially where we are now with Weber.

 

[26Mats]

After what we saw of him in the playoffs against NYR 2 years ago and watching him last year, he is on the decline. Sure he might pot a few goals here and there but I don't think he hits 30 again. Especially what I saw of Vegas in the playoffs, I just don't see him fitting in with their game. He seems too lazy and inconsistent for their style. It's the same reason Tatar did not fit with their style. What we got for him was a good return.

imo, thereason he was able to be shut down against the Rangers is we were a 1 line team. We needed a 2nd line that year. Chucky and Gallagher were not 100% recovered from their injuries.

Also, to start that year, he was on pace for the same numbers he put up last year, until they put radulov on his line. He needs to play with a playmaker, which he didn't last year. Not sure who Vegas' best playmaker is: Marchessault? Statsny? They should have kept Perron.

 

[Brownies]

I hope he plays well in Vegas. He played well for us and didn’t get to play with really good centers.

 

[Et le But]

So are Weber and Price

 

[Lebowski]

Whether he’s on the downside or not really won’t influence my opinion on this trade.

He just had to be traded, no matter what. Winning in this league is all about timing, and he just didn’t fit in the picture anymore. Might as well get some value in return. Think of the Kessel trade from Toronto to Pittsburgh, except we got better value in the deal, for a worse player, with a year left on his deal as opposed to retaining a substantial amount of money on a long term contract.

Remains to be seen if the Pacioretty trade ends up helping us to draft our Matthews. At the very least, it should improve our odds. But I wish Patches the best in Vegas, wanting him gone is nothing personal, that’s just how the business works.

 

[Ozmodiar]

- he had 67 points in 2017. one bad season - on a terrible team - does not necessarily mean decline
- we should expect decline in any player in his early 30's. studies suggest peak output from 24 to 29. if he is in decline, it shouldn't come as a surprise.
- isn't there already a Pacioretty thread?

 

[Burke the Legend]

A lot of Pacioretty's production came from a footspeed advantage and his great wrister, scoring on the rush. Players (usually wingers) who depend on those two physical aspects suffer more of a late 20s decline than players who are more cerebral or have solid strength/possession game (boardwork / cycling).

He's entering a pivot point of his career where we find out if he can adapt to this new physical reality or not, where he no longer has the advantages his body's speed from 5 years ago. He'll need to learn to pick his opportunities better and become more of a playmaker. Some players manage it, others just fade.

Vegas has effectively taken on decent risk here, mitigated by the fact that it's just a 4 year contract. Surprised Patches agreed to that after he rejected the 6 year LA offer.

 

[JianYang]

The problem with using last season as a barometer is that many players played poorly. Does that mean they are all declining?

Pacioretty is going to a team that plays up tempo, and he's got a coach who is very familiar with him.

I suspect he's going to have a pretty good year. If healthy, he should have his typical 30 something goals.

 

[Schwang]

After what we saw of him in the playoffs against NYR 2 years ago and watching him last year, he is on the decline. Sure he might pot a few goals here and there but I don't think he hits 30 again. Especially what I saw of Vegas in the playoffs, I just don't see him fitting in with their game. He seems too lazy and inconsistent for their style. It's the same reason Tatar did not fit with their style. What we got for him was a good return.

I’ve said the exact same. I think Vegas fans could end up being very disappointed in this guy. Once they witness how invisible he is when he’s not scoring, they’ll realize why Habs fans turned on him. I said these things a few years ago and I got ripped apart. Now look what happened!

 

[JianYang]

A lot of Pacioretty's production came from a footspeed advantage and his great wrister, scoring on the rush. Players (usually wingers) who depend on those two physical aspects suffer more of a late 20s decline than players who are more cerebral or have solid strength/possession game (boardwork / cycling).

He's entering a pivot point of his career where we find out if he can adapt to this new physical reality or not, where he no longer has the advantages his body's speed from 5 years ago. He'll need to learn to pick his opportunities better and become more of a playmaker. Some players manage it, others just fade.

Vegas has effectively taken on decent risk here, mitigated by the fact that it's just a 4 year contract. Surprised Patches agreed to that after he rejected the 6 year LA offer.

I dont think it's a case of pacioretty losing footspeed. I think Julien's style was not conducive to his biggest strengths.

 

[Schwang]

The problem with using last season as a barometer is that many players played poorly. Does that mean they are all declining?

Pacioretty is going to a team that plays up tempo, and he's got a coach who is very familiar with him.

I suspect he's going to have a pretty good year. If healthy, he should have his typical 30 something goals.

Look at his playoff track record. Look at when he played for Team USA with some of the best players in the world. He was an embarrassment and got ripped apart on the bench. Pacioretty is a complimentary player and always has been. But I’m inclined to agree with many here that he’s lost a step or two and lacks drive.

 

[Schwang]

I dont think it's a case of pacioretty losing footspeed. I think Julien's style was not conducive to his biggest strengths.

Pacioretty always waited for others to do the work for him while getting their noses dirty. Even 5 foot nothing Davey went into the corners to try and get him the puck. Well, look what happened last season when they needed more from him. That’s our former captain folks! . I think any strengths pacioretty had are dwindling to be honest.

 

[JianYang]

Look at his playoff track record. Look at when he played for Team USA with some of the best players in the world. He was an embarrassment and got ripped apart on the bench. Pacioretty is a complimentary player and always has been. But I’m inclined to agree with many here that he’s lost a step or two and lacks drive.

I don't know if we can use his playoff track record as a guage of his "decline". His playoff output has been a constant critique, even when he was scoring near 40 goals. That's a separate issue.

 

[Schwang]

A lot of Pacioretty's production came from a footspeed advantage and his great wrister, scoring on the rush. Players (usually wingers) who depend on those two physical aspects suffer more of a late 20s decline than players who are more cerebral or have solid strength/possession game (boardwork / cycling).

He's entering a pivot point of his career where we find out if he can adapt to this new physical reality or not, where he no longer has the advantages his body's speed from 5 years ago. He'll need to learn to pick his opportunities better and become more of a playmaker. Some players manage it, others just fade.

Vegas has effectively taken on decent risk here, mitigated by the fact that it's just a 4 year contract. Surprised Patches agreed to that after he rejected the 6 year LA offer.

I agree with your points and I’d like to add that another major issue he has is a lack of hockey sense. He’s just a shooter. Ever see him try and pass? How about when he fires the puck from 30 feet out because he doesn’t know what else to do? He’s not a smart player and I don’t think he’ll adapt to become a crafty vet. I could see him fading away.

 

[Schwang]

I don't know if we can use his playoff track record as a guage of his "decline". His playoff output has been a constant critique, even when he was scoring near 40 goals. That's a separate issue.

Ok good point. Last year was rough, but I don’t think he’s bouncing back. You can just see it based on his lack of overall hockey skill. If he can’t score, he’s a useless player. If his scoring is declining, he’s done.

 

[Rosso Scuderia]

I actually think he can easily pot 30 with Vegas.

I don't think he's gonna pot 40 just because he plays with better centers. A bit like Kessel in Pittsburgh. Everyone thought he'd score 50 with Crosby or Malkin but it didn't happen.

I see Pacioretty hit 70 pts though. He's much better surrounded now. Remember when Galchenyuk centered him? For some reason, he became the playmaker of that line and assisted Galchenyuk in a lot of goals. It gave him the opportunity to do others things than just shooting the puck. He had a career high in assist that season. So I can see him do quite well in his first years in Vegas. 30g-40a is not out of question.

 

[Habs Icing]

After what we saw of him in the playoffs against NYR 2 years ago and watching him last year, he is on the decline. Sure he might pot a few goals here and there but I don't think he hits 30 again. Especially what I saw of Vegas in the playoffs, I just don't see him fitting in with their game. He seems too lazy and inconsistent for their style. It's the same reason Tatar did not fit with their style. What we got for him was a good return.

I see myself as the biggest Pacioretty detractor on this site. I've been calling for him to be traded for years and I agree with most of what you said. But I don't think he's lazy. Not one bit. He's a player that has very limited skills. He can skate (although he has slowed a little lately) and he can shoot. That's it. Everything else he isn't even at the AHL level. His passing, board work, stickhandling, vision and defensive play (yes his defensive play) are really substandard so he has had to play the game a certain way to be successful. That makes him look lazy but he isn't. He's looking for that opportunity to pounce and capitalize on his two strong skills.

 

[1909]

I actually think he can easily pot 30 with Vegas.

I don't think he's gonna pot 40 just because he plays with better centers. A bit like Kessel in Pittsburgh. Everyone thought he'd score 50 with Crosby or Malkin but it didn't happen.

I see Pacioretty hit 70 pts though. He's much better surrounded now. Remember when Galchenyuk centered him? For some reason, he became the playmaker of that line and assisted Galchenyuk in a lot of goals. It gave him the opportunity to do others things than just shooting the puck. He had a career high in assist that season. So I can see him do quite well in his first years in Vegas. 30g-40a is not out of question.

Who can score 50 goals in today's NHL ? VERY FEW !

Patches can reach 40 with a guy like Stastny or Karlsson.

 

[Habs Icing]

Who can score 50 goals in today's NHL ? VERY FEW !

Patches can reach 40 with a guy like Stastny or Karlsson.

He played with Stastny on Team USA and they went from the number 1 line to warming the bench. I like Stastny but he isn't the player he used to be and neither is Patches. I could be wrong but I suspect Patches's style will not fit into the Knights system.

 

[Sterling Archer]

His new contract tells me LV doesn’t think he had more than 2 good years left in him.

Salary drops and LNTC kicks in after 2 years.

I think that’s fairly accurate.