Former National Hockey League All-Star Max Pacioretty has retired from the National Hockey League at age 36 according to leafsnation.com. The news of this retirement comes as a little bit of a surprise because the native of New Canaan, Connecticut did have free agency offers from multiple teams, but decided not to accept any offers instead.
Pacioretty’s final NHL season
Pacioretty had five goals and eight assists for 13 points in 2024-25, his one and only season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he played in 37 games. He was a -2 with 16 penalty minutes, one game-winning goal, 70 shots on goal, six faceoff wins, 14 blocked shots, 105 hits, five hits and 27 takeaways.
Pacioretty’s game-winning goal came on December 12 in a 3-2 Maple Leafs win over the Anaheim Ducks. Pacioretty put the Maple Leafs up 3-1 at 12:54 of the second period. Pacioretty scored from Conor Timmins of St. Catharines, Ontario and John Tavares of Mississauga, Ontario.
Pacioretty actually did not sign a NHL contract last season until October 7, 2024. Then he came to terms on a one-year deal worth $873, 770.
Injuries were a major issue once again for Pacioretty. He was out a full month with a pulled hamstring and missed the last two months of the regular season with an undisclosed injury. Pacioretty did play 11 postseason games for Toronto and had three goals and five assists for eight points.
Some of Pacioretty’s injuries
Pacioretty tore his Achilles twice in his career. He has also had a concussion, fractured vertebrae, broken foot and wrist surgery.
Who did Pacioretty play for?
Pacioretty played 17 seasons in the NHL from 2008 to 2025. He was with the Montreal Canadiens for a decade from 2008 to 2018. While with the Canadiens, Pacioretty won the Bill Masterton Award in 2011-12. He was honoured after receiving a vicious hit from Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins, which forced him to miss significant time in 2010-11. Also with the Canadiens, Pacioretty was Montreal captain from 2015 to 2018. He also played four seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights from 2018 to 2022, where he was an All-Star in 2020. In addition to one season with the Maple Leafs, Pacioretty had one season each with the Carolina Hurricanes (2022-23), and the Washington Capitals (2024-25).
Pacioretty’s career statistics
Pacioretty had 335 goals and 346 assists for 681 points in 939 games. He was a +53 with 509 penalty minutes, 175 power-play points, 10 shorthanded points, 66 game-winning goals, seven hat tricks, 3048 shots on goal, 158 faceoff wins, 424 blocked shots, 1257 hits, 408 takeaways and 452 giveaways. Pacioretty led the NHL with 11 game-winning goals in 2013-14 and a +38 in 2014-15 while with the Canadiens.
