During the 2018 NHL Draft, the Los Angeles Kings were looking for offense and seemed to have their answer in Max Pacioretty. At the time, Pacioretty was with the Montreal Canadiens and while he did have only 17 goals the prior season, he already had five 30+ goal seasons in seven seasons where he played at least 50 games.
The trade was reportedly agreed upon by the Kings and the Canadiens and as Elliotte Friedman wrote, it was time-sensitive due to it including 2018 draft picks. Unfortunately, the trade would fall apart due to Pacioretty's unwillingness to sign an extension with the Los Angeles Kings, which was a condition for the trade.
A few months later, before the start of the 2018 season, Pacioretty would be traded but it wouldn't be to the Kings but rather their newest division rival, the Vegas Golden Knights. The trade was much better for the Canadiens because they would get Nick Suzuki, who has been an excellent hockey player in Montreal.
Meanwhile, the Golden Knights would get an All-Star season from Pacioretty, where he had 32 goals and 34 assists in his second season with the team. He was a key piece to the Golden Knights early success
What was the rumored pieces that the LA Kings would have sent the Montreal Canadiens?
According to Marco D'Amico, the package the Kings would have sent was a 2018 first-round pick and defenseman Jake Muzzin. However, Friedman disputed that Muzzin was included around the time of the rumored trade.
Even though Muzzin wasn't traded at that time, his time with the Kings didn't last long after the failed trade. He would end up being moved during the season to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a package that included Carl Grundstrom and a first-round pick in 2019. Meanwhile, that pick would turn into Rasmus Kupari for the Kings, and he would eventually be traded years later to the Winnipeg Jets for Pierre-Luc Dubois.
There is no question that this failed trade had a ripple effect across multiple franchises and the moves that were made after it.