New York Rangers: Don’t even think about Max Pacioretty
Max Pacioretty, the maligned captain of the Montreal Canadiens is reportedly not going to be offered a contract extension. The New York Rangers should stay away from an aging power forward in need of a contract.
There are just a few NHL players that have scored more goals this decade than Max Pacioretty. The Canadien’s captain has scored 173 goals since the 2011-2012 season which puts him 10th in the entire league during that stretch. In fact, the only players ahead of him are considered some of the best players in the sport. Only eltie players like Alex Ovechkin, Tyler Seguin, and Patrick Kane have more during that time.
Yet, for some reason, Pacioretty has been treated like a leper up in Montreal. The hostile environment that exists in one of the hockey capitals of the world has pervaded the organization like a virus. Players are shipped away for no rhyme or reason for lesser returns. P.K. Subban for Shea Weber, Alex Galchenyuk for Max Domi, the list goes on and on.
The Rangers in a vacuum should be interested in Pacioretty. Adding one of the league’s best scoring forwards to a group starved of shooters make sense. However, there are other factors at play to consider before calling Marc Bergevin. According to the Athletic, the Canadiens have informed Pacioretty they will not offer him a contract extension. This presents two issues: a contract extension and the cost of a trade.
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The Rangers are a team that is in the process of overhauling the entire roster. Giving up parts of that overhaul for an aging forward is counter intuitive.
Just how good is Pacioretty?
In understanding the Ranger’s current roster composition there are several factors at play. First, the team has an abundance of centers and playmakers. In theory, having too many centers is a good problem to have. It allows the team to pick and choose situations for the different players to take face offs.
However, what the team truly needs is a bonafide goal scorer. The Ranger’s best pure goal scorer is winger Chris Kreider. Yet, it always seems as if Kreider has another level to his game that he has failed to reach. The Boston College alumni is in essence a poor man’s Pacioretty. They both play the game in a similar way and their best asset is their goal scoring ability.
In direct comparison, it is easy to see why Pacioretty would be such a huge prize on the trade market.
Pacioretty is an all around better version of Kredier. The Canadien’s captain is a stronger shot contributor, better at entering as well as exiting the zone than Kreider. So, Pacioretty would immediately be the Rangers best scoring forward if he were to be traded for.
Window of competition
The biggest argument against Jeff Gorton giving up assets for Pacioretty is simple. The New York Rangers will not be competitive for at least one if not two more seasons. The realistic timeline says that the Rangers will be at least decent for the 2019-2020 season. That would require the development of the team’s prospects going off without a hitch.
But, by that point, Pacioretty would be in his age 31 season. That would also mean that the Rangers gave the forward a contract extension going into his age 30 season. On the open market Pacioretty could easily command a contract in the neighborhood of James Neal (5 years, $5.75 million per) if not more.
The Rangers could easily afford to meet these demands, but it would be against their interests. The team would have to give up at least two draft picks and a roster player if not more. At this point, such a deal would slow up the team’s rebuild.
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The Rangers are going to eventually put a competitive team on the Madison Square Garden ice. It is going to take two or three seasons, but it will be worth the wait. A cost effective group of players that are all on entry level contracts will enable financial flexibility. There will be players better than Pacioretty available, the team just needs to be patient.