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.