Dallas Stars: Should the Dallas Stars Trade for Max Pacioretty?

The Montreal Canadiens might want to deal talented forward Max Pacioretty. Should the Dallas Stars trade for him if they don’t trade for Erik Karlsson?

Just when you thought that offseason couldn’t get any more hectic, in walks Max Pacioretty and the Montreal Canadiens. The Dallas Stars have been in the middle of almost everything in free agency so far, and they might be once again.

According to Marc Antoine Godin, a writer at the Atlantic, the Habs have informed Pacioretty that they will not offer him a contract extension. To add insult to injury, they said they intend to trade him as soon as possible.

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Apparently, there was a potential deal brewing between the Canadiens and the Los Angeles Kings on draft day. However, the deal supposedly fell through because Pacioretty couldn’t work out an extension with the Kings.

Rumor has it that Pacioretty fired his agent, Pat Brisson, and hired another agent either during or after the trade negotiations had fallen through.

Pacioretty, who has spent his entire NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens, has recorded 448 points (226 G, 222 A) in 626 games. He had five seasons where he scored 60+ points (2011, 2013-17).

The New Canaan, Connecticut, native came off of his worst season since 2010 (he put up 24 points, consisting of 14 goals and 10 assists), posting only 37 points (17 G, 20 A) in 64 games. This put him 5th in points among his teammates, behind Brendan Gallagher (54), Alex Galchenyuk (51), Jonathan Drouin (46), and Jeff Petry (42).

Now that Montreal is looking to trade their captain, Dallas might have an interest in making a trade.

Should the Dallas Stars trade for Pacioretty?

Well, technically, they could. However, Dallas is also the supposed front-runner to trade for elite defenseman Erik Karlsson. They almost certainly would not be able to trade for both.

Personally, I think Dallas should pay more attention to Erik Karlsson. Being able to lock up a star defenseman like him would easily eliminate Dallas’ defense problems. Here’s an earlier article I wrote about why the Stars should trade for him.

Although I think Karlsson would be of better benefit to the Stars, Pacioretty would be far easier to trade for.

It appears that Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin really wants Pacioretty out of Montreal. Therefore, he is more likely willing to accept a lesser deal if that means trading Pacioretty away.

Also, Pacioretty will most likely sign a contract with a much lower AAV than Erik Karlsson is planning on.

Pacioretty could provide a lot of help to the Stars’ offense. He would be a great second line left-winger behind Jamie Benn, and he’d also help out on the power play.

Despite his advantages, Erik Karlsson serves as a better player to fill one of Dallas’ needs. In the event Karlsson is traded by Ottawa to another team, the Stars should go after Pacioretty if they can.

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So should the Stars go after Max Pacioretty? Yes, if Erik Karlsson is off the table.