The expansion Vegas Golden Knights, against all odds, had one of the most dominant forward groups in the entire NHL in 2017-18 yet the summer additions of Max Pacioretty and Paul Stastny have made them even stronger – at least on paper – as the team prepares for its sophomore season.
“We felt like we had a couple holes to fill on the second line and we wanted to get a couple of real good two-way players that can play in all situations and both Stastny and Pacioretty can do that,” Golden Knights general manager George McPhee told Hockey Central at Noon Wednesday.
Stastny signed a three-year, $19.5-million contract when free agency opened on July 1 after a strong season split between the Blues and Jets. Pacioretty was acquired in a trade with the Canadiens earlier this month, then given a four-year extension worth an average of $7 million per year.
Golden Knights head coach Gerard Gallant, the reigning Jack Adams winner, said earlier this week he has no plans to break up the team’s top forward trio of Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith after they took the league by storm a year ago.
That leaves Stastny and Pacioretty making up two-thirds of Vegas’s second line. The third member of that line could end up being Alex Tuch, who had a strong rookie campaign, but Gallant will continue to tinker throughout the pre-season.
Gallant knows what Pacioretty brings to the rink having coached him when he was an assistant with the Canadiens from 2012-14. The two players are quite familiar with one another, too, despite always being in opposite conferences in their NHL career.
“Pacioretty and Stastny happen to be real good friends, they’ve played together on some U.S. teams and we’re hoping that they could be reunited here,” McPhee said.
Pacioretty even said at his introductory press conference earlier this month that Stastny signing with the Golden Knights was one of the reasons he decided to ink a contract extension with Vegas despite never having played a game for the organization.
“Every time we play for Team USA, we are linemates. Our wives are friends, our parents are friends, we’re friends, we do have chemistry,” Pacioretty explained. “He’s a very reliable centre who takes care of his end, slows down the game, more of a give-and-go player, that’s kind of why I’m drawn to him, why I like playing with him a lot.
“Just to come in and know that you have previous chemistry with another player and that that’s always an option is a comforting feeling, and also knowing that we’re going through the process of being new players in an organization together is another comforting feeling.”
The pair essentially serve as replacements for top-six forwards James Neal and David Perron, who left for Calgary and St. Louis, respectively, as unrestricted free agents.
Neal had 25 goals and 44 points in 71 games, numbers Pacioretty, a five-time 30-goal scorer, should easily be able to match or surpass. Perron’s 50 assists will be more difficult to replace but overall a Pacioretty-Stastny duo is an upgrade on Neal and Perron.
Both Pacioretty and Stastny typically play upwards of 20 minutes a night and have been steady producers throughout their respective careers. Stastny averages .78 points per game and is consistently among the top faceoff men in the league, while Pacioretty averages .71 points per game and is 10th in total goals since the 2013-14 campaign.
“If you need a goal, they’re on the ice,” McPhee added. “If you’re protecting a lead, they’re on the ice. They can play power play, they can kill penalties, so there’s a lot of utility.”
The Golden Knights had many players take massive (and rather unexpected) steps forward in their development one season ago. McPhee is hoping the arrival of Pacioretty and Stastny results in more positive steps being made in 2018-19.
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