Pacioretty Heading Back to Vancouver

It took the Vancouver Canucks nearly to the deadline to get the first line winger they looking for, but new GM Travis Fleming was finally able to pull it off. Max Pacioretty, originally drafted by the Canucks in the inaugural EHE draft before being dealt away for Shea Weber, is headed back to Vancouver.

The Canucks paid a hefty price to get the winger, dealing away Frans Nielsen, Nick Ritchie, Anthony Beauvillier, as well as 1st and 3rd round draft picks. In addition to Pacioretty, Vancouver also acquired prospects Mirco Mueller and Jesper Lindgren.

"Max is an elite winger with a great mix of size and skill," said Fleming earlier at a press conference. "It's not very often these types of players become available, so when you have a chance to acquire them you do it."

Although the trade certainly helps the team in the short term, there is some concern that the team gave up a large chunk of their future in the deal that may prove to be costly long-term.

"That's definitely not something we take lightly," said Fleming when asked about this at the press conference. "Obviously we didn't go into these negotiations planning to trade that many prospects and draft picks. But [Boston Bruins GM Rob Prach] was a tough negotiator. He made sure he got the most he could for his player, and I respect that. Hopefully the trade works out well for both teams."

Rumour has it that going into the deadline Fleming was toying with the idea of dealing away some of the team's impending UFA's and giving up on the playoffs this season. However, two recent wins have put them right back in the hunt and the addition of Pacioretty makes it almost certain that the goal for this season is still the playoffs.

Pacioretty's first game for the Canucks should be tomorrow's contest against the Arizona Coyotes. The pressure will be on for him to spark Vancouver's offense and help this team make the post season.