Golden Knights get: LW Max Pacioretty
Canadiens get: LW Tomas Tatar, C/W Nick Suzuki, Columbus' 2019 second-round pick
Vegas: B
After arriving ahead of schedule with a remarkable run to the Stanley Cup Final last season, Vegas needed to reset expectations for Year 2. That meant supplementing a roster filled with overachievers. That's why general manager George McPhee, with ample cap space, has been in discussions about acquiring Erik Karlsson and did snag Paul Stastny in free agency.
And that's why McPhee was willing to deal one of his top prospects to land a game-changer in Pacioretty.
The Golden Knights' biggest offseason losses came from the second line. David Perron and James Neal (combined 110 regular-season points) are gone. But they'll be replaced by Stastny -- pushing the other centers on the roster to a more natural slotting -- and Pacioretty, whose 152 even-strength goals since 2011-12 trail only John Tavares and Alex Ovechkin. Not bad.
McPhee paid a steep price for Tatar at last year's trade deadline and didn't see immediate returns; Tatar was scratched for 12 of 20 playoff games. He was supposed to be a long-term replacement for Neal, but you have to give credit to McPhee for the unemotional decision to eat the loss now.
Suzuki is an elite-level prospect who was playing both wing and center at Vegas' rookie showcase over the weekend. He's the real price the Golden Knights are paying here -- as well as the second-round draft pick.
This trade makes Vegas immediately better and gives the Golden Knights a better chance to meet expectations for 2018-19 -- which is as important on the ice as it is off, considering the excitement they have drummed up in the community. You don't want to lose that momentum.
With Pacioretty and Vegas management working out a new deal -- a four-year extension worth $7 million per season, beginning next year -- the upstart Golden Knights have added a proven commodity that can help them win for years to come.
Montreal: B+
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of the deal, we have to consider the larger picture. Marc Bergevin is a GM who inherited Pacioretty, P.K. Subban and Carey Price in their prime, and seemed to mismanage all three. Price is still on the roster, but the Canadiens aren't squeezing the most out of an all-world goalie by putting a patchwork defensive group in front of him. This speaks to larger problems in Montreal, which have sent the Canadiens tumbling from contenders into one of the league's basement teams.
That said, the Pacioretty situation had become too toxic, so good on Bergevin for addressing it before the season began. The nixed draft-day trade to the Los Angeles Kings was only part of the issue; media leaks and distrust still swirled between the two camps. So, gone is the captain -- who came at a very affordable price and consistently produced.
Tatar slots in as a stand-in on the roster who can help the Canadiens become more competitive in 2018-19 -- but is also a prime candidate to be flipped at the trade deadline. He has no trade protection on his deal, which runs through the next three seasons.
What we're really grading here is the Canadiens trending in the right direction. Yes, they haven't made the most of the talent on their roster -- remember, they also gave up on the talented Alex Galchenyuk this summer, another homegrown player who never realized his potential in Montreal -- but Bergevin is seemingly admitting to past mistakes by beginning the rebuild in earnest. The Canadiens had an impressive 2018 draft haul and add more ammunition for the future with the 2019 second-round pick.
Meanwhile, Suzuki is just 19 years old and has been graded as an "A" prospect by ESPN's Chris Peters. This is a decent haul for Pacioretty, a player who may have just walked away in free agency next summer anyway.