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By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
He’s not an original Misfit. But Max Pacioretty did spend four years in Las Vegas before he was traded by the Golden Knights with defenseman Dylan Coghlan to the Carolina Hurricanes so that original Misfit Reilly Smith can be retained for three years Wednesday.
Pacioretty, 33, was a $7 million hit on the VGK salary cap. By including Coghlan in the trade, the Golden Knights cleared nearly $7.7 million in cap space as the Knights created a cash slot for unrestricted free agent Smith. Smith will make an average of $5 million per year for three years.
Pacioretty, the former 10-year Montreal player and captain, was traded by the Canadiens to Vegas in 2019 for Tomas Tatar, Nick Suzuki and a second round draft pick. Pacioretty went on to score 97 goals in 224 games for the Knights. Last season, the 33-year-old sharp-shooting forward suffered an injury and played in only 39 games.
In his fourth season with the Knights, Pacioretty scored 22 goals in 66 games in 2018-19, 32 goals in 71 games in 2019-20, 24 goals in 48 games in 2020-21 and 19 goals in 39 games last season. In his career, the man known as Patches piled up 323 goals.
Coghlan, 24, scored six career goals and played some forward for the Knights. Three of his goals came in a single game on the road in St. Louis in 2020-21.
The Golden Knights made a big deal, literally, when they acquired Pacioretty in September 2018.
His digital image loomed large on the marquee boards of MGM Resorts International hotel-casinos such as Aria, Mandalay Bay, Bellagio and MGM Grand on the Strip at the time. Even Caesars Palace’s marquee board showed Pacioretty in this Vegas Golden Knights Facebook photo:
At the time, Pacioretty’s jersey was also a featured item at the team store at the VGK headquarters in Summerlin. Four of the five players with names on these hockey sweaters are gone. The Knights did not receive anything from Carolina except the ol’ “future considerations from the Carolina Hurricanes.” Man, Vegas didn’t even get a bottle of BBQ sauce from Carolina.
It’s been a busy day for the Carolina Hurricanes, which also acquired high-profile defenseman Brent Burns from the San Jose Sharks today.
By trading Pacioretty, the Knights keep Smith, who has scored 98 goals in his five seasons with the VGK. Starting in Year 1 and ending in Year 5, Smith has scored, 22, 19, 27, 14 and 16 goals in his five VGK seasons. He played mostly with fellow Misfits William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault on what has been nicknamed the Misfits Line.
Here is the Golden Knights’ PR summary of Wednesday’s action:
- The team has signed forward Reilly Smith to a three-year contract worth an average annual value of $5,000,000
- The team has acquired future considerations from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forward Max Pacioretty and defenseman Dylan Coghlan
- The team has signed forward Brett Howden to a one-year contract worth an average annual value of $1,500,000
- The team has signed forward Jonas Rondbjerg to a three-year contract worth an average annual value of $766,666
- The team has signed forward Sheldon Rempal to a two-year deal worth an average annual value of $762,500
- The team has signed forward Byron Froese to a two-year contract worth an average annual value of $762,500
- The team has signed goaltender Michael Hutchinson to a one-year contract worth an average annual value of $750,000
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