Canadiens trade Pacioretty to Vegas

Max Pacioretty's tenure in Montreal is over, as the Canadiens announced early Monday morning that they have traded their former captain to the Vegas Golden Knights in return for Tomas Tatar, Nick Suzuki, and a 2019 second-round pick.

Pacioretty has spent his entire 10-year NHL career with the Canadiens, tallying 226 goals and 222 assists in 626 regular-season games.

The 29-year-old expressed his hope to remain in Montreal but said there was no talk of an extension heading into the final year of his contract. He had previously said he didn't want to negotiate a long-term deal during the season so he could focus on playing.

"As I learned last year, it is very difficult to play to the best of your abilities when you have this much of a distraction," Pacioretty told Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette earlier this week. "I think this will make it much easier on focusing about just playing hockey and that's what I have to get back to doing and that's what I'm looking forward to doing and that's, I guess, the reason behind that."

The five-time 30-goal scorer will be a major addition to an already-potent Golden Knights team that made a run at the Stanley Cup in its inaugural season, losing to the Washington Capitals in five games in the finals.

Tatar's stay in Vegas was brief after moving there at the trade deadline, appearing in just 20 games for the Golden Knights. The 27-year-old scored a combined 20 goals with the Detroit Red Wings and Vegas last season.

Suzuki was selected 13th overall by the Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Draft.