Max Pacioretty retires, to join Michigan as special assistant

Max Pacioretty, a veteran NHL forward who played 17 seasons and served three years as captain of the Montreal Canadiens, has retired from professional hockey and will join the University of Michigan men's hockey program as a special assistant to the head coach, the university announced Tuesday. The 36-year-old from New Canaan, Connecticut, spent the 2024-25 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs and will return to Michigan, where he played the 2007-08 collegiate season.

Pacioretty was selected 22nd overall in the 2007 NHL draft by the Canadiens and rose to prominence during a decade in Montreal, where he became the 29th captain of the franchise before the 2014-15 season. After 10 seasons in Montreal he was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights in September 2018 in a deal that included future Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki. He later had brief stints with Carolina and Washington before joining Toronto on a professional tryout prior to the 2024-25 season.

Across his NHL career Pacioretty scored 335 goals and added 346 assists in 939 regular-season games, and he recorded 28 goals and 30 assists in 89 playoff appearances. With the Canadiens alone he totaled 226 goals and 222 assists for 448...