Traded to the Carolina Hurricanes the day following the opening of the free agent market in July, Max Pacioretty did not hesitate to send his former team, the Vegas Golden Knights, to the slaughterhouse.
Speaking on the most recent episode of the “Raw Knuckles” podcast, hosted by former National League players Chris Nilan and Tim Stapleton, the striker blamed the organization’s lack of accountability for poor performances.
“It’s something I’ve been thinking regarding lately. When I arrived in Vegas, I found it weird that no one was held responsible, first mentioned the former captain of the Montreal Canadiens. I’m not necessarily talking regarding the players in the team, but in general you didn’t feel any pressure from anyone, whether it was the coaches or the management.
The Golden Knights missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in 2021-22, posting 94 points in 82 games, finishing three points behind the Nashville Predators and the final playoff ticket in the league. Western Association.
The Nevada team, however, had several injuries throughout the season, while neither Pacioretty nor Mark Stone nor Jack Eichel were able to play at least 40 duels. The 33-year-old finally finished his campaign with 37 points in 39 games.
Despite that, Pacioretty wasn’t happy with how the season ended and even used Montreal to better illustrate his point.
“I mentioned at the end of the campaign that no one was held accountable,” added Pacioretty. If we had such a bad season in Montreal, half the city would have been on fire, and here in Vegas it’s [27oC] and it’s sunny, we’re going to wash our cars, get our organic food and we’re going to play golf. I thought we should be stricter with each other. I don’t want to say it was a ‘country club’, but no one outside held us accountable.”