Maple Leafs Hero Max Pacioretty Reflects on Near Retirement After Scoring Clutch Series Winner

It was a bit overdue but the Toronto Maple Leafs pulled out the 4-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night, setting themselves up for a matchup with the Florida Panthers in Round Two; one down and three more series wins to go.

After giving up a 3-0 series lead to the Sens, it took the heroics of Max Pacioretty, who scored for the first time since mid-December, and once again was an unlikey hero in the series alongside Max Domi and Simon Benoit, but it could have been a lot different.

Explaining post-game what happened with regards to the game-winner and how he felt after nearly giving up on his career after being marred with injury after injury, he revealed that he was very close retiring before the Maple Leafs gave him a shot:

Can we all just admire the beauty of #67 scoring the game-winner? Not only is it a great story of perseverance and resilience on the part of Pacioretty, but that number holds so much more significance to Maple Leafs fans.

1967. That was the year the Maple Leafs last won the Stanley Cup, and the fact that it's been nearly six decades since; it feels like a long time coming. This year is full of superstition when it comes to Toronto's success, and while things are lining up as they did in '67, the team still needs to make it there first.

There was a lot of concerns around Pacioretty's placement in the lineup, especially when he as out for over two months, but Craig Berube's trust in him to play alongside William Nylander and John Tavares paid huge dividends.

Combined, the three had five points and a plus-4 rating, showing that while Berube's stubbornness can be frustrating at times, making a couple of minor changes led to a lot of success.

Looking ahead, things do not get easier. Florida is coming off a fairly dominant series over the Lightning, and have had the Maple Leafs' number for the majority of the season, but stranger things have happened. They need their stars to pick things up in the second round, but it's great they have players like Pacioretty too.

Skating in only 35 games this season, he had 13 points (5G, 8A) but missed most of the year with separate injury reserve stints. But in playing his best game of the year, adding two points and seven hits; he's exactly the type of player Toronto needed when they signed him in September.

So let's all take a moment to appreciate what we witnessed. A former Canadiens captain came through in the clutch, wearing the cursed Leafs number, and having to deal with several injuries along the way.

Perseverance pays off, and boy is it poetic.