Junior As a youth, Paquette played in the 2006
Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a
minor ice hockey team from
Chandler, Quebec. Paquette played for College Notre-Dame of Montreal for three seasons scoring 28 goals. He then played major junior hockey in the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with the
Montreal Juniors and
Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, scoring 58 goals and 131 points, with 191 penalty minutes, in 126 games played.
Professional Tampa Bay Lightning Paquette was drafted in the fourth round, 101st overall by the
Tampa Bay Lightning in the
2012 NHL entry draft. On May 3, 2013, the Lightning signed Paquette to a three-year, entry-level professional contract, On April 11, 2014, after posting 20 goals and 22 assists, with 153 penalty minutes, in 70 games played with the Crunch, the Lighting recalled Paquette. On November 4, 2014, during the
2014–15 season the Lightning recalled Paquette from Syracuse, his second recall of the season after having previously appeared in four games with the team. Two nights later, on November 6, Paquette scored his first two NHL goals in Tampa Bay's victory over the
Calgary Flames, 5–2. On January 29, 2015, Paquette scored his first career NHL hat-trick in a 5–1 win over the visiting
Detroit Red Wings. On April 27, he scored his first career
Stanley Cup playoff goal in a 5–2 Lightning win over the Red Wings in the
Eastern Conference Quarter-finals. On June 24, 2016, the Lightning announced that it had re-signed Paquette to a two-year contract extension. Paquette appeared in 56 games with the team in the previous season, registering six goals, eleven points, and 51 penalty minutes. His 51 penalty minutes were good for fourth on the team during the regular season. He was also one of five Lightning players to score a shorthanded goal during the 2015–2016 season. Paquette also played in 17 Stanley Cup Playoff games with the team, posting one assist and 24 penalty minutes. Paquette had played in 122 NHL games, all with the Lightning, over the previous three seasons. During that span he recorded 18 goals and 31 points to go along with 102 penalty minutes. On November 30, 2017, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced that Paquette had been suspended for one game for boarding
Boston Bruins' defenseman
Torey Krug on November 29, 2017, at
TD Garden. During the
2018–19 season, Paquette had a career-high 13 goals along with 4 assists and 17 points in a career high 80 games with the Lightning and led the team in penalty minutes. On July 5, 2019, the Lighting signed Paquette to a two-year, $3.3 million contract extension.
Ottawa Senators and Carolina Hurricanes On December 27, 2020, Paquette's seven-season tenure with the Lightning ended as he was traded along with
Braydon Coburn and a second round pick in
2022 to the
Ottawa Senators in exchange for
Marián Gáborík and
Anders Nilsson. After attending the Senators training camp for the pandemic delayed
2020–21 season, Paquette made his Senators debut on the club's fourth line in a 5–3 opening night victory over the
Toronto Maple Leafs on January 15, 2021. On February 13, 2021, after a very brief stint with the Senators, Paquette, who played in nine games, was traded along with
Alex Galchenyuk to the
Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for
Ryan Dzingel. He played out the remainder of his contract with the contending Hurricanes, collecting 3 goals and 7 points through 38 regular season games.
Montreal Canadiens As a free agent from the Hurricanes, Paquette joined his fourth club in short succession by agreeing to a one-year, $950,000 contract with the Montreal Canadiens on July 28, 2021.
KHL As a free agent from the Canadiens, Paquette went overseas and accepted a contract with Belarusian club,
HC Dinamo Minsk of the KHL, on August 16, 2022. Following a successful lone season with Minsk, Paquette extended his career in the KHL by signing a two-year contract with Russian based club, HC Dynamo Moscow, on May 2, 2023. ==Personal life==