Destination: Florida 2019.
I think it's going to be hard for Habs to get value out of Pacioretty.
He, like Tavares, is coming up on a big UFA summer... and I think teams can sniff where he might want to go.
Both MaxPac and his wife (sister of Maxim Afinogenov) have family in south Florida.
That, along with the Florida state zero-tax, makes that an attractive spot for him.
So anybody NOT named Florida (or TB) probably realizes he is a one-year rental.
And... if the Cats can have him for free next summer... why give up anything at all (right now)???
https://www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/c...e-to-panthers/
http://montrealgazette.com/sports/ho...ummer-of-rehab
[In article above, note this line of text: Pacioretty and his family call Florida their off-season home, and they don’t have to go far to find company: his parents and those of Katia live in their neighbourhood, meaning two grandchildren are spoiled pretty much every minute of the day. “It’s so nice to spend summers with my family,” Pacioretty said. “Having that family support has made it so much easier on me this summer. Whenever I thought I’d had a bad day or my knee didn’t feel great, it was, ‘Alright, let’s have everyone over for dinner.’"
I think Habs are going to have a really, really tough time getting anything solid for him.
I think he'll be a trade deadline rental... and may not fetch more than a 2nd rounder.