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Why Did Pacioretty Slump Last Year?; Haula on Changing Role

September 12, 2018, 1:38 AM ET [6 Comments]
Sheng Peng
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Which Max Pacioretty are the Golden Knights getting?

The five-time 30-goal scorer, who was just a shade below the league's very best left wingers as recently as two seasons ago?

Or is he the 17-goal scorer from last year who's entering his age-30 campaign?

Vegas is double downing on the former, as they followed up the blockbuster trade of Nick Suzuki, Tomas Tatar, and a 2019 second-round pick for Pacioretty by locking up the ex-Montreal captain to a four-year, $28 million dollar pact.

For what it's worth, Los Angeles was ready to make the same bet, as they had a deal in place for Pacioretty in June, for a similar package to Vegas's from what I understand -- before that trade was scuttled because the left winger and the Kings couldn't come to terms on an extension.

So why did Pacioretty slump last season? Was it a sign of physical decline or were there other circumstances?

I spoke with a few NHL scouts to try to answer these questions.

NHL Scout #1: "No, I didn't see any decline. Good player. I expect him to come here and score his usual 30."

NHL Scout #2: "I don't think [he declined physically]. Of course, you get older as a player. But he's going to be fine here.

"Montreal isn't for everybody either. It's a good leadership group here. He's just coming here to play his game. This is a great place to play."

NHL Scout #3: "The team wasn't very good. They missed Shea Weber, Carey Price. It trickles down. He'll be rejuvenated coming to Vegas into such a positive environment. Not having to wear the 'C'. Not having to answer questions every night. Not having to have that needy fanbase.

"It's very difficult [to captain in Montreal]. You have to have the right personality for it. If you're not the type of guy who's going to want to get up and answer every question...five different guys asking the same question, hoping to get a different answer. Trying to manipulate you, trying to find a slip-up. It wears on you. You think about it during the game. You think about it going home at night.

"Guaranteed, he wanted to get out of there. It's no big secret. Everybody knew."

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The Golden Knights closed the inaugural Vegas Rookie Faceoff with a resounding 7-2 victory over the Kings.

Chatting with scouts and executives, consensus had Anaheim's Sam Steel as the tournament's most impressive forward and Erik Brannstrom as the most impressive defenseman.

I use the word "impressive" because while there may be steadier and more productive players in these games, especially those who are older, you're mainly looking for prospects who pop during these essentially developmental contests.

Cody Glass really flashed today, after a slow start to the tournament. Lucas Elvenes also made an impression; he has a knack for always putting the puck to the right place when he's moving it. Direct from the SHL, Elvenes may have been dealing with an adjustment to the smaller ice during the weekend.

Here are highlights from today, missing Glass and Keegan Kolesar's second goals.



And in case you missed them, here are highlights from the Knights' 5-4 loss to the Sharks on Sunday and their 7-6 victory over the Avalanche on Saturday.





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Finally, here are a potpourri of quotes from today's inaugural Vegas Golden Knights Charity Golf Classic. Erik Haula talks about the possibility of changing positions or lines. And both Haula and Colin Miller address the Nate Schmidt situation.





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