Max Pacioretty's comeback campaign with the Washington Capitals didn't go exactly as he planned, but he has remained on several team's radar and now could end up with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Per The Nation Network's Nick Alberga and The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta, the Maple Leafs are "firmly in the mix" to sign Pacioretty, and the deal could be a standard player contract rather than a professional tryout, which was somewhat with Pacioretty still unsigned with NHL training camps right around the corner.
Pacioretty is coming off a rough comeback season following back-to-back right Achilles tears within a five-month span. The 35-year-old had just four goals and added 19 assists for 23 points in 47 games with Washington, and he admitted at the end of the season that he wasn't the 30-goal scorer or player he used to be.
"I never had a year where I didn't score a lot of goals, and so that was new for me. That being said, definitely it took a lot for me to even get out there and get on the ice and I take a little bit of a moral victory in that regard, but at the same time, I was far from my old self, and it's hard to accept sometimes. That's just the reality of it. It is what it is," Pacioretty said. "That was basically a shell of what I was."
Still, he was grateful that he got the chance to play again with the Capitals, who took a chance on him with a one-year deal last season.
"There was a good chunk of time there here I was in bed for almost two years and I wasn't able to do much, so grateful that I've gotten this opportunity again," Pacioretty noted.
Training camps are expected to officially kick off in mid-September.
