Habs Trades: How Luck Influenced The Suzuki – Pacioretty Deal

On September 10, 2018, the Montreal Canadiens made a trade that would come to define the franchise for the foreseeable future, as they sent their captain, Max Pacioretty, to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for lucrative trade package that included a prospect named Nick Suzuki, among other assets.

Six years to the day later, it’s clear the Canadiens won the trade, but the deal itself speaks to a few realities of professional sports, both good and bad.

Revisiting The Max Pacioretty Situation

There was a certain sense of dread when discussing a potential trade involving Pacioretty, as he quickly established himself as one of the few quality goalscorers in the lineup over the course of the last few decades. To put things into perspective, Pacioretty still holds the record for the most goals in a single season by a Canadiens forward in the last 25 years. In fact, he’s ranked first (39 goals in 2013-14), second (37 in 2014-15), and third (35 goals in 2016-17) in that stretch, a good reminder of just how well he played for the Habs before the captaincy and locker room issues came to a forefront a few years later.

With all due respect to David Desharnais, which is much more than he gets in most hockey discussions, Pacioretty achieved his goal-scoring with linemates that were thrust into a situation that should have been above their pay grades. That being said, I will forever remind fans that Desharnais should be celebrated in Montreal, as he was the epitome of the hard-working, local player who made his way to the big show while facing an unreasonable amount of adversity. Deharnais’ time in Montreal is a great story, however, even he’d admit he was probably a little out of his depths while serving as Pacioretty’s centre, but I digress.

In a sense, Pacioretty was a lot like Carey Price, a high-end athlete that received little to no support from the management group that wanted him to lead their organization to hockey’s Holy Grail.

When the issues between Pacioretty, his teammates, and Canadiens management led to an untenable situation, the concept of a trade that would lead to any semblance of value for the Habs seemed far-fetched. The rule of thumb in hockey is that the team that ends up with the best player tends to win the trade, and at the time, Pacioretty was clearly the best play involved.

It  also felt like the Canadiens were about to lose one of their only half-decent forwards, a rather cruel punishment for Habs faithful who had endured the terrible teams from 1999 and on. Those teams featured a revolving cast of second and third-line players who were expected to carry the weight on the first line alongside Saku Koivu. Players like Dainius Zubrus, Sergei Zholtok, Benoit Brunet, Brian Savage, and Oleg Petrov, who were quality players in their own right, but clearly lacked the elite talent needed to push  the Canadiens to the next level.

Max Pacioretty Trade Talk

One of the eternal truths in professional sports is that luck has a lot to do with many of the most celebrated stories.

What if the Portland Trail Blazers drafted Michael Jordan instead of Sam Bowie?

Would the Canadiens have dominated the 70s without the help of the Boston Bruins, who traded Ken Dryden to the Canadiens in exchange for two low-profile players who never laced their skates for a single NHL game?

What would have happened if Wayne Gretzky entered the NHL draft, rather than signing a “personal services” contract with the Edmonton Oilers?

The examples are endless, and serve as a good reminder that sometimes you simply have to adopt an ‘Alea iacta est‘ philosophy and hope for the best. That was certainly the case when the Canadiens attempted to trade Pacioretty to a Western Conference team.

The original deal, which was nixed by Pacioretty, would have seen him join the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a package that included the 20th overall pick at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. For the record, the Kings ended up drafting Rasmus Kupari (nine goals and 21 assists in 158 career games) with the pick they wanted to send to Montreal. Pacioretty’s decision forced the Canadiens to explore more options, which eventually led to the framework of a trade with the Golden Knights a few weeks later.

The player Bergevin originally wanted from Vegas was forward Cody Glass, a talented forward who was drafted sixth overall in 2017. The Golden Knights refused to move their best prospect, opting to send Nick Suzuki, picked 13th overall in 2017, to the Canadiens rather than Glass. The deal also included the Canadiens acquiring a second-round pick, as well as a forward was not given a chance to find his rhythm by Vegas, Tomas Tatar.

It was Vegas who ensured the trade would become one of the best in Canadiens history by forcing the Canadiens to acquire Suzuki, much like it was the New York Rangers who decided to acquire prospect Josef Balej in exchange for Alex Kovalev in 2004. Bob Gainey had given Glen Sather carte blanche to pick any Canadiens prospect, including a hard-working player playing for the Hamilton Bulldogs named Tomas Plekanec. Fortunately for the Canadiens, Sather was seduced by Balej’s slightly higher scoring pace in the AHL, and the rest is history.

It would be tempting to suggest Bergevin and Gainey do not deserve much credit for trades that ended up being beneficial to the organization, but it would be an experiment in intellectual dishonesty, as you’d have to scrutinize every other trade in team history with the same standards.

Just as luck has an impact on every single game, it is an inherent part of every managerial decision made in sports.

Moving Forward With Nick Suzuki

Not only would Suzuki go on to become the youngest captain in team history, a role that he has filled with grace and aplomb, Tatar ended up outproducing Pacioretty’s scoring pace in the short term, making it one of the most lopsided trades in team history.

That’s not to say Pacioretty failed to provide value to the Golden Knights. He led the team in most important statistical categories, and there’s something to be said about Vegas’ penchant for making bold moves in an attempt to win championships, as evidenced by their Stanley Cup win in 2023. By then, Pacioretty had been traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for future considerations, as injuries had robbed him of his speed, the catalyst to most of his goal-scoring plays.

ON TOPIC: Canadiens Facts – Nick Suzuki’s Dedication To The Habs Is Beyond Reproach

It was a harsh, yet logical decision by Vegas, just as it was a difficult decision by the Canadiens to trade their captain before contract negotiations came into play.

Fortunately, due to luck and a series of decisions that were out of their control, the stars aligned for the Canadiens, with Suzuki now serving as the foundation for the team’s rebuild, while providing the type of leadership necessary to turn the page on the past and build towards a better future.

And this time around, Canadiens management is well aware that they must insulate their star with other talented players, unlike the situation that unfolded with Pacioretty.