Maple Leafs place Max Pacioretty on LTIR

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Max Pacioretty has been placed on long-term injured reserve, The Athletic’s Chris Johnston reported Friday.

Pacioretty was previously placed on injured reserve on February 28, after suffering an undisclosed injury prior to practice on February 19. Toronto moved Pacioretty to LTIR on Friday, which helped the team get under the salary cap for the duration of the year. Pacioretty holds a $873,770 cap hit, and the Maple Leafs hold $195,332 in cap space after Friday’s trade deadline via PuckPedia.

The 36-year-old posted five goals and 13 points in 37 games this season. Pacioretty last played on February 8 against the Vancouver Canucks. He’s been a versatile piece in the lineup, although he’s primarily been used in a bottom-six role.

Toronto acquired Scott Laughton from the Philadelphia Flyers, a 2025 fourth-round pick and a 2027 sixth-round pick, in exchange for a 2027 first-round pick and Nikita Grebenkin. Philadelphia is retaining 50 percent of Laughton’s salary, and the 30-year-old joins Toronto on a very reasonable $1.5 million cap hit. Laughton is precisely the third-line centre Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving was seeking, as he provides secondary scoring and defensive responsibility through the middle, while remaining under contract through the 2025-26 season. Laughton will wear No. 24 for the Maple Leafs, per the team’s website.

Treliving wasn’t done there, as he also acquired defenceman Brandon Carlo from the Boston Bruins in exchange for forward Fraser Minten, a 2026 first-round pick (top-five protected) and the Philadelphia Flyers’ 2025 fourth-round pick. Minten made a strong case for permanent playing time at the NHL level, recording two goals and four points in 15 games with the Maple Leafs this season.

As per the provisions of LTIR, Pacioretty will miss 10 NHL games and 24 days of the NHL season, meaning that he could return in April to a Maple Leafs team that will be different, at least on paper, from the pre-deadline iteration. Toronto resumes its schedule Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche.