The Washington Capitals are coming off a disappointing season by their standards, finishing outside the playoffs for the first time since 2014. The Capitals are looking to squeeze the most they can out of Alex Ovechkin's twilight, but as this season showed, they need to upgrade the roster around him. They are making an effort to do so, as indicated by their signing of forward Max Pacioretty to a one-year deal worth $2 million in free agency.

Pacioretty is coming off a brutal year in 2022-23, his first and only season with the Carolina Hurricanes. He tore his Achilles tendon just weeks into his Carolina tenure, then tore it again just two weeks after returning to the ice. A string of unfortunate injuries for the 34-year-old has led to questions surrounding his NHL future.

However, Pacioretty still earned another contract for a reason. He has been a quality scoring forward for over a decade now, and his two-way game is decent as well. He also has some good leadership experience, being the Montreal Canadiens' captain for three years. Pacioretty may not be the player he once was but he still brings a lot to the table.

Without further ado, let's grade this deal from the perspective of both the Capitals and Pacioretty himself.

Capitals' Grade: A-

The Capitals were in a tight spot heading into the offseason. With very little cap space, they couldn't really afford to bring in top free agents to improve their roster. As such, they mostly stuck to smaller signings in free agency, with Pacioretty being their biggest acquisition.

For all the reasons mentioned previously, Pacioretty is a quality acquisition for Washington. He should add some much-needed secondary scoring, as the Capitals finished below average in scoring despite Ovechkin scoring 42 goals. Pacioretty can still score pretty efficiently in his mid 30s, and placing him on the second line could do wonders for the Capitals.

Again, though, the big red flag with Pacioretty is his injury history. Even before last year, he missed over the 2021-22 season with the Vegas Golden Knights, which, in part, prompted them to trade him to Carolina in the first place. One Achilles tear is hard enough to come back from, but two of them, especially his mid 30s, is very concerning.

While that is a huge concern, the Capitals aren't making a huge commitment with this move. They're paying him just $2 million compared to the $7 million a year he was making on his previous deal. If Pacioretty has a poor season, the Capitals can just let him walk next offseason without any issue. As such, this is a very low-risk signing with potentially high reward.

Max Pacioretty's Grade: B

Unfortunately, Pacioretty is a victim of circumstance in this free agency cycle. Had he not had such brutal injury luck over the last two years, he would've earned a much bigger payday this offseason. He likely wouldn't have earned as much as his previous deal, but still could've earned a pretty penny.

That said, Pacioretty still did relatively well for himself given the situation. He still earned a decent amount of money at $2 million, which is a testament to his accomplishments in the league. Going to Washington also allows him to go to a veteran-led team, and he won't have nearly as much pressure on him as he did before.

If Pacioretty can rebound from his past injuries, then this could be a great signing for both parties.