It was 225 days ago, on Sept. 19, when Max Pacioretty, wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs hoodie with the number 67 stamped on, first stepped in front of the camera to explain why he joined the organization.

"I hope to bring the team good luck with that number," he grinned, before explaining his reasoning for coming to Toronto.

"It's no secret that they've had a lot of success with their top guys, but need to get over the hump and I'm looking to push everybody just as much as they're looking to push me."

If you follow hockey, you probably know of Pacioretty's story. During the summer of 2022, the forward underwent surgery on a ruptured Achilles tendon. After months of recovery, he tore his Achilles tendon again in January 2023.

Pacioretty returned to game action a year later with the Washington Capitals, playing 43 games and tallying 23 points (four goals, 19 assists). He used the following summer to work on getting back to his old self on the ice, leading to a professional tryout with the Maple Leafs.

"My family and I made a lot of sacrifices this summer," Pacioretty said in September.

"A lot of travel, a lot of work. I owe it to myself and to them to see if I can get to where I was before the injuries, and the good news is I feel like I'm there."

Before the season began, and as everyone expected, Pacioretty received a one-year deal from Toronto. It was a moment where the Maple Leafs locked up a veteran forward who wanted to prove to people that he could overcome this huge obstacle.

But it wasn't that easy during the regular season.

Pacioretty went through spurts of adversity throughout the year, being a healthy scratch at times, dealing with an injury in early January, and another that ended his regular season in mid-February.

The ailment that forced him onto Toronto's injured reserve didn't give him any runway to make the Game 1 lineup against Ottawa. "He's in the conversation all the time," Craig Berube added, before the series opener.

'This Is Why I'm Here': After A Nearly 3 Month Wait, Max Pacioretty Brings Experience To Maple Leafs Ahead Of Series Debut KANATA, Ont. — Max Pacioretty was visibly dejected when he spoke with reporters ahead of Game 1 of the Toronto Maple Leafs' first-round series against the Ottawa Senators.

Pacioretty, though, eventually found his way into Toronto's lineup in Game 3: "This is why I'm here," he said ahead of his playoff opener.

The forward didn't register a point through the first three games against Ottawa, and it appeared his spot in the lineup could be in jeopardy. Berube, however, stuck with his guns and moved Pacioretty even further up the lineup, with John Tavares and William Nylander.

"There's always debate about lineup changes," Berube said on Thursday morning. "Max had some real good stretches with those guys before he got hurt. Big guy, strong, physical, good around the net, so that was the decision there."

Why Max Pacioretty Is Moving Up And Why No Other Maple Leafs Lineup Changes Are Happening For Game 6 When the Toronto Maple Leafs stepped onto the ice at the Canadian Tire Centre for their morning skate on Thursday, Max Pacioretty was in top-six blue, re-affirming that lineup changes were coming after their Game 5 loss. 

Little did Pacioretty know that eight months later, after smiling about the number he picked in training camp (which has a significant meaning in Leafs land), he'd score the series-clinching goal, sending Toronto to the second round of the playoffs.

Over a minute and a half after David Perron tied the game at two in the third period of Game 6, Max Domi found Pacioretty in the slot, and the 36-year-old rocketed a snap shot past Linus Ullmark to put Toronto back up 3-2.

It would stay as the game-winner, with Nylander adding an insurance empty-netter to send the Maple Leafs to a meeting with the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in the second round.

"You keep playing because you want to pitch in," Pacioretty said after ending the Battle of Ontario. "When you’re sitting out and the team’s winning, you’re happy for them, but you want to be a part of it. Just thankful for the opportunity."

Nylander reflected post-game on the battles while Pacioretty was the Montreal Canadiens' captain: "Now seeing him here, he’s done an unbelievable job, and it’s been a lot of fun playing with him," Nylander said.

"The way he’s come back from injury and made his way into the lineup, and becoming a key player for us, I mean, incredible."

Stories like these make hockey special. The mountain that Pacioretty had to climb was massive, and many had written him off. However, his close circle of family and friends didn't.

Nor did his teammates, in Toronto and elsewhere.

"I’ve had a lot of conversations with people in my family and others, and I thought that I was done playing a number of times," he said on Thursday night.

"Everyone always supported me to keep going, but my story’s just one of many, and it’s one that’s public, so it’s one that’s talked about. But there’s a lot of resilient guys in this organization who’ve been through a lot as well. Guys like that motivate me to just keep going."

The climb gets even steeper, with Base Camp Two on the horizon. Toronto enters a series against the Panthers, who just shipped the Tampa Bay Lightning home in five games.

It's going to be difficult, and the Maple Leafs understand that. However, Thursday night will be remembered as a moment when working through adversity paid off in dividends. For the Maple Leafs, and for Pacioretty.

"Just the ups and downs he’s been through in the last couple of years and putting himself in this position, battling back from a couple injuries this year, and then he scores the series-clinching goal, can’t say enough good things about him," Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews said of Pacioretty.

"I love playing with him. It’s been awesome getting to know him, and he’s a big part of our room."

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