Have you ever wished you could just show up to work and make enough money to pay off your entire mortgage? Max Pacioretty will be that guy today.
The 35-year-old forward will make a cool half million at puck drop against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden for playing in his 15th game of the 2023-24 season. Pacioretty signed an incentive-laden contract over the offseason due to his recovery from a second Achilles tendon tear.
#ALLCAPS Max Pacioretty is expected to play his 15th game of the season this afternoon, which will earn him his next games played performance bonus worth $500k.https://t.co/BDxYi5tMh1 https://t.co/oVVwUO1kjv
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) February 10, 2024
Pacioretty already achieved a $1 million bonus (~200k Gordita crunches) when he suited up on January 23 against the Minnesota Wild for his 10th game and is scheduled to get a second $500,000 bonus (~1000 Playstation 5’s) on February 22 against the Tampa Bay Lightning for his 20th game of the year. That is if he doesn’t get hurt or taken out of the lineup.
The Capitals appear likely to foot the bill on those Pacioretty bonuses on their salary cap next season due to what the league terms as overages.
The six-time 30-goal scorer has only scored once in his first 14 appearances, netting seven points total. On Thursday, he appeared to draw the ire of Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery at the team’s bench during the second period of its 4-2 loss to the Florida Panthers.
“Max has proven to be a consistent goal scorer in his career and has the necessary skill set to play in every situation,” Capitals GM Brian MacLellan said upon signing Pacioretty over the summer. “We’re confident he’ll be a great contributor to our team at a cap number that suits our club.”
Friday, hockey insider Pierre LeBrun reported that Pacioretty could be open to waiving his full no-move clause ahead of the trade deadline, which could net the Capitals an asset as they rebuild for the future.
Pacioretty’s lack of an impact coming back from injury has not helped the Capitals as they’ve struggled to score goals all season long. They currently are playing in the toughest part of their schedule. Coming into today’s game against the Bruins, the Capitals have lost six straight games.
