Charles Krupa / AP
Vegas Golden Knights left wing Max Pacioretty (67) is congratulated after his goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins, Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021, in Boston.
Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021 | 2:24 p.m.
The Golden Knights injury woes keep coming this season, and this one it will keep their best scorer on the shelf for quite some time.
Max Pacioretty underwent wrist surgery today and will be out indefinitely, the Golden Knights announced today. It is Pacioretty’s second long-term injury of the season, after a broken foot in October cost him 17 games.
It’s a major blow to the Golden Knights, as Pacioretty had been sensational in the 16 games in which he’s played. Pacioretty has 12 goals and 21 points this season, per-game numbers that would have blown away the career-bests of the 14-year veteran. His 0.75 goals per game ranks seventh in the NHL.
Depending on the severity of the injury and the length he will be out, some interesting salary-cap implications could come into play. When the Golden Knights acquired star center Jack Eichel last month, they were able to delay fitting his $10 million salary under the cap because he is on long-term injured reserve (LTIR), a mechanism which allows teams to exceed the cap.
If everyone is healthy, the Golden Knights would have needed to clear just over $7 million in cap space to fit Eichel into the lineup. Pacioretty makes $7 million against the cap. If he’s out until the playoffs, where the salary cap does not apply, it would allow Vegas to avoid moving an expensive member of the roster to make room for Eichel.
It’s a similar tactic employed last season by the Tampa Bay Lightning, who had former MVP Nikita Kucherov injured and on LTIR until the postseason started. He returned for the playoffs, and helped Tampa Bay win the Stanley Cup.
There’s no indication if Pacioretty will be out long enough for this scenario to come into play. The team did not announce the type of surgery he underwent, and only said he’d be out indefinitely.
Whether he’s out for the remaining four months of the regular season or less, his absence will be felt by the Golden Knights offense. He leads Vegas with 90 goals since his arrival in 2018, as well as 21 power-play goals.
