Max Pacioretty wears No. 67, a number fans of the Maple Leafs have an uneasy relationship with.
After all, 1967 was the year the team last won the Stanley Cup聽and fans in other buildings will sometimes chant 鈥渟ixty-seven鈥 to remind the players on the ice.
It’s the number Pacioretty has worn since he joined the NHL in 2008 with Montreal. He wore it in Vegas, Carolina and Washington and when he got to 海角社区官网in September, well, the number was available.
Asked in training camp why he went with 67, he was ready with an answer.
鈥淚 hope to bring the team luck with that number,鈥 he said.
As the regular season went on, No. 67 didn’t have much luck. Pacioretty missed more than half the season to a variety of ailments and a late-season salary cap squeeze that kept him out even though he was likely healthy enough to play.
Pacioretty was coming off double Achilles surgery when the Leafs took a chance on him, even though he hadn’t played anything close to a full season since playing in 71 games in 2019-20 with the Golden Knights.
He took a chance on the Leafs, too, like Patrick Marleau, Jason Spezza and Joe Thornton before him. He assessed the talent in 海角社区官网and decided this was the best place to try to win that elusive Stanley Cup. And with the Leafs up two games to one over the Florida Panthers in the second round, Pacioretty has made it closer to that goal than any of them.
The ex-Boston Bruin shot towards the slot and got a favourable deflection at 15:27 to give
鈥淗e’s had a tough couple of years going back with the injuries,鈥 Leafs coach Craig Berube said. 鈥淗is dedication when he was injured, working to get back, gave him the opportunity to come back and play good hockey.
鈥淢ax has had a pretty good career as a player in all facets聽鈥 He’s physical and has the ability to make plays and put the puck in the net at the same time. He’s been a good National Hockey League player for a long time, and he’s playing some good hockey for us right now.鈥
It’s hard to imagine the Leafs being in this spot without him. He sat the first two games in the first round while Nick Robertson played his way out of a winning lineup by taking needless penalties.
Now Pacioretty has become a key part of the team by doing what he set his mind on when the season began: He remade his game.
Brad Marchand scored in overtime as the Florida Panthers topped the 海角社区官网Maple Leafs 5-4 to cut their deficit in the teams鈥 second-round playoff series to 2-1.聽(May 10, 2025 / The Canadian Press)
Once a goal-scorer, Pacioretty decided to use his size聽鈥 six-foot-two, 217 pounds 鈥 to become a power forward. He would be the guy to take the hit to get the puck. He fit in on John Tavares’s left wing, two veterans聽鈥 Pacioretty is 36, Tavares 33聽鈥 playing old-school hockey while William Nylander would tantalize on the right wing.
鈥淲e spoke about the physicality and playing bigger teams,鈥 Pacioretty said. 鈥淭hat’s where I can slot in and help the team and the line in that area. I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel. I’m trying to get the puck to two of the best players on the planet as much as I can and make life a little bit easier on them and harder on the opponent.
鈥淎nd at this stage, I know what’s effective and that’s give them the puck.鈥
It’s among the most productive lines of the post-season. Pacioretty and Nylander are both on four-game point streaks. ,聽was tied for the lead in playoff scoring heading into Saturday’s games. Nylander and Tavares each had five goals, tied for third in the post-season. run with two goals and five assists in seven games.
聽鈥淚’m playing with two unbelievable players,鈥 he said. 鈥淛ohn has done a good a good job of defending well, and taking us from defence to offence. William’s skills are, well I keep raving about it. I haven’t seen anything like it in my life. I’m just along for the ride.鈥
With no salary-cap limitations on NHL rosters in the playoffs, the tough guy is back with the
Robert Svehla (2002-03), Brandon Kozun (2014-15) and Radim Zahorna (2022-23) are the only other Leafs to have dared to wear No. 67. None have worn it as well as Pacioretty, the fifth player in Leafs playoff history with a four-game point streak at age 36 or older.
鈥淲e battled him through his entire career, played against him when he was in Montreal and 鈥 he’s done an unbelievable job,鈥 Nylander said. 鈥淚t’s been a lot of fun playing with him.
鈥淭he way he’s come back from injury and made his way into the lineup and becoming a key player for us, I mean, it’s incredible.鈥
Notes
-Berube said goalie Anthony Stolarz is 鈥減rogressing鈥 but hasn’t resumed skating.
-Mitch Marner, with points in his last four games, has 62 career playoff points, passing Wendel Clark (61) for fifth on the franchise鈥檚 all-time list.
-Morgan Rielly is a on three-game points streak and is second among Leafs defencemen in the playoffs with 47, two behind B枚rje Salming.
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation