MAPLE LEAFS GM BRAD TRELIVING ON PTO SIGNING MAX PACIORETTY: ‘MY EXPECTATION IS HE’S GONNA BE WITH US’
Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving all but confirmed that he expects the club to sign Max Pacioretty to a permanent contract after inking the veteran winger to a PTO on Wednesday.
“Our expectation is he’s gonna come in, he gives us more depth,” Treliving said. “My expectation is he’s gonna be with us. But everybody’s got to sort of earn their spot here.”
Indeed, a PTO does not guarantee that a player will end up signing an actual contract with the team that brought them in. After all, any other team has the right to sign another player who is on a PTO if they feel they can get them before the team that signed them could.
Having said that, things appear to be trending towards Pacioretty signing on with the Leafs to what will likely be a one-year deal prior to training camp concluding. His agent, Allan Walsh, confirmed as much when he said on Twitter/X yesterday that he expects his client to sign with Toronto before the start of the 2024-25 campaign. That would have to involve either a trade or waivers to free up the necessary cap space to fit him into the books, which the Leafs have plenty of options to consider moving off from. One of them being Nick Robertson, who could potentially be on the move despite having inked an extension on Tuesday.
Treliving also noted in his media availability that the process to make Pacioretty a Leaf began a few weeks ago when he went to Toronto for medicals and to meet with the team’s brass. By all accounts, the meeting went well, hence why Pacioretty is projected to sign on at some point in the coming weeks.
Pacioretty played half of last season on the Capitals due to recovering from an Achilles tear the year prior, which resulted in him missing the first bit of the year. He was productive upon returning, with 23 points (four goals and 19 assists) in 47 games while adding an assist in four playoff games.
Regardless of how the Leafs decide to go about freeing up that cap space to make room for Pacioretty, it is clear that the roster is far from complete. But that should make for an interesting training camp, which is fast approaching.
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2024-09-12T18:02:31Z dg43tfdfdgfd