The Hurricanes will be without their biggest offseason addition until early 2023. Veteran left winger Max Pacioretty will be out for six months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn Achilles, general manager Don Waddell announced.
The Hurricanes acquired Pacioretty and defenseman Dylan Coghlan from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for future considerations on July 13. After Vincent Trocheck left the Hurricanes in free agency, Pacioretty was expected to be a stabilizing force in Carolina.
Now, the Hurricanes might be without Pacioretty until the 2023 All-Star break in February.
When healthy, Pacioretty has the ability to score in bunches. Last season, he played in just 39 games for the Golden Knights but still managed to score 19 goals. In 14 total NHL seasons with the Golden Knights and Montreal Canadiens, Pacioretty has scored 226 goals and tallied 448 points in 626 regular season games.
Pacioretty, 33, has struggled to stay healthy in recent years. Since 2017-18, he has played just one full season. In the other four years, Pacioretty has missed at least eight games due to injury.
Losing Pacioretty will create a hole in the Hurricanes' lineup, but the team still has plenty of talent necessary to compete in the Metropolitan Division, with forwards Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov leading the way. On top of that, Carolina made a notable addition to the blue line by trading for former San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns.
