"I'm hoping that's in my past," Pacioretty said Thursday. "I'm doing everything I can to move on from that. I'm 100 percent. I'm really looking forward to it. As soon as the dust settled and we focused on the hockey aspect of it, I really got excited about what's in front of me, this opportunity. I'm getting myself into a hardworking team that wants to win hockey games. Everyone talks about the coach (Rod Brind'Amour) being one of the best in the League, if not the best. [There's] a buy-in attitude from a group that has really taken the League by surprise the last couple years by how hard they work." He was limited to 39 games last season because of a lower-body injury and wrist surgery. Vegas traded Pacioretty and Dylan Coghlan to Carolina on Wednesday in exchange for future considerations. He is looking forward to joining a team that he feels is close to being a Stanley Cup champion. 

In other words, Vegas is moving Pacioretty for the sake of getting rid of his $7 million cap hit and were desperate enough to make the trade while getting little or nothing in return. To be fair to the Golden Knights, they did need to create space and this trade addresses that need. Pacioretty was also limited to 39 games last season due to injury and that couldn't have helped his trade value. However, when healthy Pacioretty is a terrific goal scorer. He had 19 goals and 37 points in 39 games last season and is a great candidate to top the 30-goal milestone if he stays healthy. Carolina can afford his cap hit, especially given that it's only for one more season, and the Hurricanes consequently wrestled away a high-end forward without surrendering any noted assets.

Pacioretty has been performing lately with two goals and five points in his last five games, but Vegas ultimately still fell short of a playoff spot. It was a disappointing end to a see that began with such promise. “It’s going to take some time to digest, because right up, until the end there, I never lost hope in thinking that we were going to make it,” Pacioretty said. “That final blow is a tough one to take.”

Pacioretty was back after he missed 12 games due to an undisclosed ailment. He gave the Golden Knights a 2-0 lead at the 6:40 mark of the second period in an eventual 6-1 victory. Pacioretty concluded the contest with four shots and two blocks in 14:37 of ice time.