Teams that should be calling if Pacioretty is available

The Vegas Golden Knights are still looking to clear cap space before the start of the 2021 NHL season. After reports this week of Max Pacioretty being exposed to trade rumors, many teams should be calling to try and acquire the veteran scorer.

Pacioretty does have a $7 million cap hit over the next three seasons, but he has been a reliable source of scoring over the course of his NHL career. The 32-year-old has recorded 554 points (280 goals, 274 assists) in 763 games split between the Montreal Canadiens and Vegas Golden Knights. Here are the teams that should be looking into taking a chance on him.

Nashville Predators

The Predators have been known to make big trades, and trading for Pacioretty makes a lot of sense. Nashville still has more than $12 million in cap space with only restricted free agent Luke Kunin left to be re-signed. The team's offense was somewhat weak last season, and they lost some offensive firepower this offseason. Pacioretty would solve some of that problem, as well as help solve what has been the league's worst power play over the past 2 seasons.

New Jersey Devils

The Devils are kind of stuck in the middle at the moment, they aren't necessarily a contender, but they also aren't at the bottom of the pack either. The team has over $17 million in cap space, and the only player that needs to be re-signed is Mackenzie Blackwood. New Jersey needs more offense, even with their young talent involving Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes. Pacioretty would give them a proven scorer that they are very much in need of. This move would also reunite former Canadiens teammate P.K. Subban with Pacioretty, which could turn out to be a rewarding move.

Florida Panthers

The Panthers already needed help on their backend and goaltending, but now they have created another problem that they must try and fix. They lost both Evgenii Dadonov and Mike Hoffman this offseason and are in need of another goal scorer. They have close to $8.5 million in cap space, so it would not be surprising if they were to take a chance on Pacioretty.

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