The Toronto Maple Leafs and veteran winger Max Pacioretty are believed to be finalizing a deal that would see the 35-year-old brought in on a PTO with no guarantees.

Pacioretty spent last season with the Washington Capitals, suiting up in 47 games and producing 23 points, which was quite admirable for a player who had missed the majority of the previous two seasons.

If the Maple Leafs do wish to ink Pacioretty to a deal, they may need to complete a trade to ensure that they are salary cap compliant before the season begins. The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta believes the team is already working on a deal to create the necessary space.

The Maple Leafs have shown a bit of a habit of bringing in older players who have strong reputations around the league in recent years and Pacioretty is no exception. He joins the likes of Ryan Reaves, Jason Spezza, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau on that list.

Pacioretty is a former 8-time 20+ goal scorer, so by bringing him in on a PTO, the Leafs are really doing their due diligence to determine whether or not he’s still capable of providing some high level secondary offense before committing to a standard player contract with the former Canadiens captain.

If Pacioretty can prove to the Maple Leafs that he still has plenty of gas left in the tank, it could lead to an NHL contract, but it might be at the expense of taking away an opportunity from a young player like Fraser Minten or Easton Cowan — two players who appear poised to take the next step in their young careers. For Minten, the opportunity to elevate and play in the AHL is still there, but for Cowan, a failure to make the NHL roster means another year of dominating the junior circuit.

If Pacioretty fails to convert his PTO into a contract with the Leafs, he may still yet sign an NHL deal with another organization at the conclusion of his tryout.