Boston Bruins rumors: Acquiring Max Pacioretty a game changer

Max Pacioretty appears to be on the trading block and the Boston Bruins would become Stanley Cup contenders by acquiring him.

The Boston Bruins are an interesting spot heading into the 2021 season. Some of their most important players are reaching the end of their time in the NHL. Boston needs to acquire some talent if they want to make a run at the Stanley Cup.

While Boston has young players like Jake DeBrusk, Charlie McAvoy, and David Pastrnak, the team also has some aging stars. Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, and Tuukka Rask are past their prime and hoping to win just one more Stanley Cup before they retire.

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Heading into this season, the Bruins haven’t made significant improvements. No offense to Craig Smith, but I don’t think he will get Boston over the hump and back into the Stanley Cup Finals.

There’s also the fact that the Bruins will be without Brad Marchand and Pastrnak to start the season. Missing two-thirds of your top line is a massive loss.

If Boston wants to make a run and be contenders, they still need to make some moves. The Vegas Golden Knights might be able to help the B’s.

The Golden Knights are currently in a cap space crunch and need to get rid of some costly players. One of the players possibly on the move is Max Pacioretty.

Bruins fans will be rather familiar with Pacioretty. He was a member of the Montreal Canadiens for 10 years.

Last season, Pacioretty had one of the best seasons of his NHL career. Even though he is now 32 years old, it’s clear that he has some gas left in the tank. Pacioretty scored 32 goals and 34 assists with the Golden Knights last season.

With his age, Pacioretty’s price tag wouldn’t be too exuberant. A package of prospects and picks could do the trick or even a deal surrounding someone like Ondrej Kase. Another possibility would be DeBrusk, but the Bruins showed that they want to keep him by signing him to an extension.

In return, Boston would be getting a quality winger that they could pair with Krejci. This would give the Bruins amazing goal-scoring depth. Also, the acquisition of Pacioretty would help dampen the impact of losing Pasta and Marchand to start the season.

So the Bruins should be calling Vegas day and night. Acquiring Pacioretty would be a game changer for Boston. If not a chance at the Stanley Cup doesn’t seem to be in the cards for the B’s.