On the surface, the decision to make Max Pacioretty a healthy scratch on Wednesday night is right in line with the developing pattern that Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube seems to be implementing with his lineup. The veteran winger was the latest forward to assume press box duty in what has been an ongoing rotation, with Bobby McMann and Ryan Reaves sitting out the first two games, respectively, and John Tavares missing Saturday’s home opener with an illness.
But while it’s one thing to run an odd-man-out lineup rotation early in the season, it’s not particularly sustainable over the course of 82 games. Every NHL player wants to be on the ice, so any kind of rotating healthy scratch arrangement will likely breed unhappiness. Injuries could create opportunities at some point, but even then the forward corps promises to become further muddled by the eventual returns of Calle Jarnkrok (lower-body injury) and, potentially, Connor Dewar (shoulder surgery).
Why Did Pacioretty Sit?
Pacioretty’s place on the sidelines on Wednesday was less a function of poor play and more a simple reality of the Maple Leafs’ current situation. Too much forward depth is a nice problem to have, but it also necessitates situations like this where deserving players need to sit periodically.
There is a message being sent to all Leafs on the fringes: "Fine," as Craig Berube puts it, no longer guarantees a regular shift in this town as Max Pacioretty has found out. @lukefoxjukebox has more on the veteran's recent healthy scratch. https://t.co/x9S3n27Coh
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 17, 2024
As Pacioretty, himself, acknowledged, he looked solid over the season’s first two games (including a goal in New Jersey) before struggling through a poor performance against the Pittsburgh Penguins in which he didn’t register a shot and took an ill-advised hooking penalty.
“I liked my first game,” Pacioretty recounted. “Second game was pretty good. Didn’t like my last game.”
Under normal circumstances, one bad outing in three games would hardly warrant a lineup removal, particularly for a respected veteran who hasn’t played much in recent years due to injury. But other deserving players are waiting in the wings, and Pacioretty’s place on the club (as a professional tryout whose contract had to be earned) came with no guarantees.
Forward Musical Chairs
When Pacioretty slots back in, someone will need to come out. McMann assumed press box duties for the season opener, but his early play (three goals in three games) has made it incredibly difficult to bump the 28-year-old back upstairs anytime soon. Likewise, Steve Lorentz has probably secured a permanent place on the fourth line (possibly even beyond this season) thanks to his contributions on the penalty kill and earning the coaches’ trust in late-game defensive situations.
That basically leaves Reaves, along with Pontus Holmberg, David Kampf and the still-pointless Nicholas Robertson. On talent alone, Reaves is the obvious candidate to be left off the ice, but every Maple Leafs fan is readily aware of the pugnacity and intimidation he can bring. Meanwhile, Holmberg certainly seems to have a fan in Berube, Kampf helps stabilize the centre-ice position and Robertson is always capable of suddenly exploding for a multi-goal game.
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That’s all to say that there’s no easy answer on who to leave out, with Jarnkrok and Dewar soon to add to the multitude of options. Pacioretty may indeed draw back in on Saturday night against the New York Rangers, but that doesn’t alter his broader status sitting on the edge of the 23-man roster. And while you would certainly hope that lineup decisions boil down to on-ice impact above all else, it’s not for nothing that the former Montreal Canadiens captain carries significant contract bonuses tied to the number of games played that would count against the cap if achieved.
All of this, coupled with the Timothy Liljegren problem that seems to be manifesting itself on the blue line, would seem to point to a trade or two somewhere down the line. In the meantime, though, we could see a revolving door of Toronto forwards getting bumped from the lineup – with Pacioretty looking like one of the foremost candidates. While it’s a tough spot for a decorated NHL veteran of 17 seasons and more than 900 career games, it’s ultimately what he wanted. He could have signed with a less-stacked organization and probably secured a more permanent role, but he joined the Maple Leafs to prove his value and chase a Stanley Cup.
