Max Pacioretty May Be the Most Underrated Star in the NHL

November 30th, 2015 by Jonathan Willis Leave a reply »

Alex Ovechkin. Steven Stamkos. Joe Pavelski. That’s the complete list of players with more goals than Max Pacioretty since his big breakout season in 2011-12.

It’s a list notable by its absences. Five of the league’s last six Hart Trophy winners have been forwards; only one of those, Ovechkin, has scored more goals than Pacioretty. Corey Perry is neck-and-neck with Pacioretty but has played five fewer games and comes up one goal short; Evgeni Malkin’s absences have been more frequent, and he’s 15 goals back.

The star power sitting behind Pacioretty on the goals list is stunning. Dynamic duos such as Perry and Ryan Getzlaf in Anaheim, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin in Dallas and Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane in Chicago are all behind him—in some cases well back. Sidney Crosby isn’t even close; John Tavares is but sits a touch back.



Pacioretty is a goal-scoring machine, though he’s rarely accorded the respect granted to lesser scorers. He tallied 76 goals in the last two seasons and has never finished higher than fourth on the league’s All-Star ballot at ...

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