BROSSARD, Que. — You’d be hard-pressed to find another player in the NHL more in need of a fresh start than Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty.
After a tough inaugural season as Montreal’s captain, Pacioretty made his first appearance at Canadiens training camp Tuesday and is prepared to turn the page.
“It’s a breath of fresh air that everyone comes in here and knows that it’s a clean slate for everybody,” said Pacioretty. “It’s a very good energy and that’s the first thing everyone’s told me since I was gone. I was getting texts left and right from my teammates. They said, ‘You know it’s a new year, it’s a fresh feeling, everyone is so fired up, the vibes are great.’”
Montreal started last year with a franchise-best nine-game winning streak, but imploded in the 70-game absence of goaltender Carey Price. And though he managed at least 30 goals for a third-straight season, rehabilitation from a broken tibia suffered in the summer of 2015 robbed Pacioretty of the opportunity to condition himself throughout the year the way he had become accustomed to.
Then came the World Cup of Hockey, where Pacioretty was singled out by head coach John Tortorella for a less-than-stellar performance in Team USA’s second pre-tournament game.
“He’s OK. Yeah. But I need more out of him,” Tortorella said at the time. “I know how he can play. And this is what happens in this type of tournament and the team make-up.
“He’s got to give me some reason to give him more minutes here. So we’ll see where it goes. We know he’s a really good player. Great kid. But we’ve just got to get a little more out of him.”
Pacioretty, who played just 10:05 in the Sept. 10 loss to Canada, was then relegated to a bottom-six role as the Americans flunked out of the tournament without winning a game.
In the midst of the Tortorella debacle, he was left fielding questions about rumours out of Montreal that head coach Michel Therrien had referred to him as “the worst captain in Canadiens history” at a charity golf tournament.
Therrien denied ever making those comments, and things were smoothed over in a conversation with Pacioretty.
Pacioretty insisted there was no bad blood between he and Tortorella, stating that what was perceived to be a controversy became a running joke between he and the coach as the World Cup rolled along.
“I had a great relationship with Torts, it was great throughout the tournament,” Pacioretty said said before affirming his relationship with Therrien remains good.
Though the World Cup wasn’t an altogether positive experience, the New Canaan, Conn., native did feel there were several fringe benefits to participating.
Playing games at what he referred to as “playoff pace” gave him confidence that his off-ice work this summer put him in position for a successful season. He feels his skating stride is as strong as it’s ever been, which he believes will enable him to maximize his potential. And he noted that being around several top-quality leaders like Minnesota’s Zach Parise and San Jose’s Joe Pavelski gave him some insight on things he can bring to the Canadiens.
Another positive about the World Cup experience for Pacioretty was getting a glimpse at what Team Canada’s Shea Weber can do. The defenceman was traded to Montreal in June.
“I said yesterday that when (Team USA defenceman Dustin Byflugien) was getting in these scrums after whistles I heard everyone on the team say, ‘Man, it’s so nice having Buff on your side,” and I was just thinking, ‘We got Shea Weber on our side now,’” Pacioretty said. “That’s special. You just play a different style of game when he’s in the lineup and we’ve seen Canada do it.
“I think he’s one of the most important players on that team and he’s gonna jump in here and it’s going to be no different.”
Along with Weber, the new-look Canadiens also feature forwards Alexander Radulov and Andrew Shaw along with goaltender Al Montoya.
Pacioretty is confident that his team can stay in good form this season.
“Nothing’s going to get in between us this year,” he said. “We’re a tight group in here from top to bottom and no one’s going to break that this year.”
