The Toronto Maple Leafs opened their preseason with an overtime loss against the Ottawa Senators, although Max Pacioretty made a powerful statement in his first game for the franchise. The veteran wrapped up his debut scoring two goals in the team's 6–5 loss to the Sens and pretty much confirming his presence on the Leasf regular-season roster.

NHL veteran Max Pacioretty was one of the few bright spots for the Maple Leafs on Sunday. The first game of the preseason was an ugly one for the Toronto Maple Leafs who, despite icing what looked very much like a National Hockey League roster, saw themselves struggling against an Ottawa Senators roster that featured very few NHL regulars.

Max Pacioretty dropped in two goals during his preseason debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The star left winger looked like he was in midseason form with his brand new team, leaving any doubt as to whether or not he could be an impactful addition to the team.

A few weeks back I made a case that a youth movement is in the Leafs best interest. Whether players like Easton Cowan or Fraser Minten are ready today or not, any sign that they are ready to be developed at the NHL level should give them a priority roster spot over bringing in a player like Max Pacioretty.

The Toronto Maple Leafs kicked off their preseason with a 6-5 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators. Despite the defeat, several key performances stood out — Max Pacioretty, Nikita Grebenkin, and Joseph Woll specifically –,

Ironically, Pacioretty is wearing his familiar No. 67 with Toronto. That’s a sensitive number for Maple Leafs supporters, since opposing fans around the NHL often chant “Sixteeeee-seven” when Toronto is in town in reference to the last time the franchise won the Stanley Cup: 1967.

Easton Cowan, Nick Robertson and Pontus Holmberg continue to jockey for roster spots, with varying degrees of success.

The Toronto Maple Leafs may need to make a strategic trade to create cap space if they hope to sign Max Pacioretty off his PTO. One possible move comes from the Puck Pedia GM feature and could involve trading forward Calle Jarnkrok to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a 2025 6th-round pick.

Veteran National Hockey League forward Max Pacioretty looked about as good as could have been expected in his first preseason game as a Toronto Maple Leaf on Sunday night, but there were legitimate concerns about whether or not he had been too good.