McPhee: Tatar trade can't affect decision to acquire Pacioretty

If George McPhee paid too high of a price to add Tomas Tatar at last season's trade deadline, credit the Vegas Golden Knights general manager for quickly cleaning up that decision.

Parting with first, second, and third-round draft selections to acquire Tatar, the former Detroit Red Wings winger proved to be a flop with the Golden Knights, managing just six points in the 20-game stretch toward the postseason. His lagging production made him an easy scratch for all but eight games of the Golden Knights' run to the Stanley Cup Final.

While Tatar may have bounced back over a full season in Vegas - he's under contract for the next three years - he'll now have that opportunity in Montreal after an early Monday deal sent the Slovak forward, prospect Nick Suzuki, and a second rounder to the Canadiens for Max Pacioretty.

It was a short stint for Tatar in Sin City, and a possible shot at a redemption wasn't enough to hold up a deal for a perennial 30-goal scorer in Pacioretty.

"The (Tatar) deal we did last March was market driven. That was the price," McPhee told reporters Monday. "We did it to help our hockey club. We can't allow what we did months ago to affect a good decision today."

In acquiring Pacioretty, the Golden Knights add to an offensive collection that had no trouble finding the back of the net last year - Vegas' 272 goals were the third-most last season. The team will have a new look this season after James Neal and David Perron signed elsewhere, but summer additions like Pacioretty and Paul Stastny will help fill the void.

For Tatar, he'll have a shot to skate in the Canadiens' top six and rediscover the scoring touch he had in Detroit before his trade to Vegas. Prior to the 2017-18 campaign, Tatar averaged 25 goals and 49 points across three seasons with the Red Wings.

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