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NHL notebook: Habs reportedly looking to trade Pacioretty

[July 11, 2018] The Montreal Canadiens will not negotiate a contract extension with captain Max Pacioretty and now intend to trade him, according to a report from The Athletic on Tuesday.

Citing an NHL source, the report says general manager Marc Bergevin told Pacioretty -- who is entering the final year of his contract -- there will be no contract negotiations and the team intends to trade the left winger as soon as possible. Pacioretty, 29, is due $4.5 million in 2018-19, the final year of a six-year, $27 million deal he signed in August of 2012. He has spent all 10 of his NHL seasons in Montreal, serving as the team's captain for the last four years and posting four 30-goal seasons from 2013-17.

His name surfaced in trade rumors over the second half of last season, particularly around the February deadline, but TSN reported last month that the team had opened preliminary contract talks with Pacioretty. Allan Walsh, who Pacioretty hired as his new agent within the last month, told The Athletic he would not comment on his client's current status with the team.

"I'll reiterate what Max has said a number of times, that he loves Montreal, he holds Montreal dear to his heart and he hopes to stay," Walsh said.

--The Tampa Bay Lightning announced the signing of star right wing Nikita Kucherov to an eight-year extension worth $9.5 million annually.

Kucherov has one season remaining on his current contract at a roughly $4.8 million cap hit and would have been a restricted free agent next summer. His new deal runs through the 2026-27 season and carries a total value of $76 million.

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Montreal Canadiens left wing Max Pacioretty (67) celebrates with right wing Brendan Gallagher (11) and center Lars Eller (81) after scoring on an empty net goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the third period at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters Picture Supplied by Action Images

Kucherov, 25, is coming off his first 100-point campaign. He had 39 goals and 61 assists in 80 games for the Lightning and finished sixth in the vote for the Hart Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the league's most valuable player. Kucherov scored 40 goals and 45 assists in 74 games in 2016-17. For his career, the 2011 second-round pick has 147 goals and 187 assists in 365 games.

--Free agent left winger Patrick Maroon signed a one-year, $1.75 million contract with his hometown St. Louis Blues, the team announced.

Maroon, 30, had 27 goals and 15 assists in 2016-17 with the Oilers before totaling 17 and 26, respectively, with the Oilers and Devils last season. He was dealt from Edmonton to New Jersey at the trade deadline for a third-round pick and a prospect.

Maroon, who was born in St. Louis and attended Oakville High School in St. Louis County, earned $2.1 million last season. A sixth-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2007, he broke into the league with the Anaheim Ducks in 2011 and spent parts of five seasons there before a trade to the Oilers in February 2016. He has 78 goals and 100 assists in 375 career games.

--Field Level Media

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