© Mike Zeisberger

TORONTO — Max Pacioretty said the only way he was going to retire after 16 NHL seasons was if he could no longer endure the physical grind.

Now, after signing a professional tryout contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs earlier this month, he’s on a mission to show the doubters that he can.

“I feel like I’m there and I can’t wait to prove it,” the 35-year-old said after the Maple Leafs held their first day of on-ice training camp sessions on Thursday.

Pacioretty said he never wanted to hang up the blades. Whether he could still play at a high level after two Achilles injuries, well, that’s another story.

“I told myself I’ll listen to my body and if my body tells me that I can’t go on then I’ll listen to my body,” he said.

In the end, his body told him to keep playing. But it didn’t come without a lot of rehab, a lot of long days, a lot of medical tests.

Indeed, his journey the past three seasons has been a tale of being battered, bruised and, at times, broken.

In 2021-22, Pacioretty suffered a broken foot, then was forced to undergo wrist surgery later in the season, limiting him to 39 games with the Vegas Golden Knights.

After being traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on July 13, 2022, he tore his right Achilles tendon during training later that summer and needed surgery. He returned to action on Jan. 5, 2023 only to sustain the exact same Achilles injury in his fifth game with the Hurricanes, this time without absorbing any body contact, leading to yet another operation.

Pacioretty signed with the Washington Capitals during the summer of 2023, but by the time he made his Washington debut on Jan. 3, 2024, it had been nearly a full year since his last game on Jan. 19, 2023. He went on to score 23 points (four goals, 19 assists) in 47 games and added an assist in four Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Capitals.

Nevertheless, he still didn’t feel fully back in form. If he was to continue his career, he wanted to be back at the level that saw him score 668 points (330 goals, 338 assists) in 902 regular-season games.

After traveling around the globe the past few months seeking medical consultations, Pacioretty now says he feels as good as he has in years.

“That’s why this kind of took so long from both sides this summer is because I’m over the mental side of it,” he said. “I wanted to see physically where I was at. I owed it to myself to see if I could get up to a level where I thought I could compete to where I was before the injury.

“It wasn’t perfect. When I first started training, I realized how deconditioned my body really was through the almost three years, two-plus years of being injured and being on the couch.

“Physically I really like where I’m at.”

Bringing Pacioretty into training camp is a low-risk move for the Maple Leafs, who hope he can replace some of the offense lost when forward Tyler Bertuzzi signed as a free agent with the Chicago Blackhawks this summer.

“Pacioretty has been an elite scorer in this league for a long time,” Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said. “He’s feeling healthy. A big, strong guy, can score, hang on the pucks.”

That being said, why did he pick Toronto?

“It’s an honor for me to be here and wear this jersey,” he said. “Everyone knows you have three or four of the top forwards in the world in this lineup. And often times you need guys to kind of plug in and help complement them. There’s roles in this lineup that there is going to be competition for and I see myself competing for some of those roles.

“It’s no secret that they’ve had a lot of success with their top guys but haven’t been able to get over the hump. And I’m looking to push everybody, just as much as they’re going to push me.”

Ironically, Pacioretty is wearing his familiar No. 67 with Toronto. That’s a sensitive number for Maple Leafs supporters, since opposing fans around the NHL often chant “Sixteeeee-seven” when Toronto is in town in reference to the last time the franchise won the Stanley Cup: 1967.

Pacioretty played for the Montreal Canadiens from 2008-18 and often heard those chants whenever the Maple Leafs played at the Bell Centre.

“I didn’t know much about that at the time,” he said. “I was kind of oblivious to that.”

He won’t be anymore if he makes the team, since Toronto opens up the 2024-25 season against the Canadiens in Montreal on Oct. 9.

“I loved my time in Montreal,” he said, adding that “hopefully wearing No. 67 will be good luck.”

The Maple Leafs hope so too.