Emotional Pacioretty knows his time in Montreal may be up
There was a lot of emotion in Max Pacioretty’s eyes Monday when he met with the media in Brossard as the Canadiens cleared out their lockers and had exit meetings with management.
Pacioretty’s eyes looked sad and reflective as he spoke about the dismal season and what the future might hold after the Canadiens missed the playoffs for the second time in three years with him as captain.
“I think as you get older, you get a little bit more emotional,” Pacioretty said. “I never expected that. I’m prepared for anything, but this is special. It might be my last time doing an interview in this locker-room, so yeah, it is a little bit emotional.”
The Canadiens finished 28th in the NHL with a 29-40-13 record. Pacioretty had 17 goals and just 37 points in 67 games after scoring at least 30 goals in each of the four previous seasons. Pacioretty missed the last 18 games with an MCL knee sprain, but has been cleared to start off-season training.
The question is: Will Pacioretty be back with the Canadiens?
The captain has one season left on a six-year, US$27-million contract and can become an unrestricted free agent after that. Pacioretty said there have been no discussions with general manager Marc Bergevin about a new contract and he realizes there’s a good chance he could be traded.
“Hockey was below par this year for our team, for myself,” Pacioretty said. “And when that happens, everyone has to look for answers. I have to look for answers, the team has to look for answers. Whether that’s changing players or making other moves, I can’t control that.”
If this was Pacioretty’s final season with the Canadiens, what would he like to tell fans?
“I know it’s not always going to be perfect,” he said. “No one’s perfect. But I know that the fans do love me because I’m told that on a daily basis from the fans, not from someone telling me what the fans think. And I love it here.
“We’re just so comfortable with the way people live their lives here. It definitely took getting used to at first. I don’t want to say it was a culture shock, but this is a special place where it’s more of a European lifestyle and I didn’t understand that when I first came here ...
“But I’ve fallen in love with this city ... me and my family, my kids, my wife. Whether I’m playing here or not, I’m always most likely going to call Montreal home. And I look forward to spending the rest of my life, really, with the fans that do love me in the city and I think, for the most part, that’s most of them.”