The Vegas Golden Knights provided an injury update on forward Max Pacioretty, announcing that the sniper had successful wrist surgery, but would be out of the lineup indefinitely. The player will likely move to long-term injury reserve and for now, the team has solved some of their impending salary cap concerns.
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While the Golden Knights would rather have a healthy Pacioretty in the lineup — he has 12 goals and nine assists in just 16 games this season — removing his $7 million salary from the books does give the organization a little wiggle room (or at least time) to make a plan and prepare for the much-anticipated return to the NHL for superstar Jack Eichel. As most fans know, Eichel underwent neck fusion surgery and is expected back sometime around late February.
Some fans might suggest this is interesting timing, but the Golden Knights were likely to make big roster changes to fit in all of their stars once everyone is healthy. Pacioretty’s health status aside, those moves were and are still coming. Now, this just means Vegas can take a little longer to assess their roster, make the necessary changes closer to the trade deadline and plan according to where they are in the standings or based on other players potentially going down or being unavailable.
Could Pacioretty Be the Player Moved?
It seems nuts to think that Pacioretty would be the player moved when the Golden Knights try to ice the best roster and Eichel is back. That said, his continued health issues and the return he might fetch from another team make him a possible trade piece if the Golden Knights feel like their options are a bit limited.
Pacioretty has just one year left on his contract and Vegas is always known as a team who buys and gets in on every available free agent. They certainly won’t be afraid to trade him if the plan makes sense. If they get the sense he might leave or retire sooner than later, maybe they make that deal the second he’s healthy.
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