Pacioretty honored to lead Canadiens into NHL100 Classic

OTTAWA-- The moment will not be lost on Max Pacioretty.
He is captain of the Montreal Canadiens, and so he will have the honor of representing them -- all of them, each one back to 1909 -- for the ceremonial face-off before the 2017 Scotiabank NHL100 Classic (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVA Sports, NHL.TV).

What makes this outdoor game special is that it culminates the NHL's Centennial celebration. The Canadiens are playing the Ottawa Senators at Lansdowne Park on Saturday because they played the original Senators in Ottawa on the first day of NHL games, Dec. 19, 1917, almost exactly 100 years ago. They won 7-4.
What makes the Canadiens special is their history. They are older than the NHL, which was founded at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal, blocks from their current home, Bell Centre, on Nov. 26, 1917. They have won the Stanley Cup 24 times, 23 as a member of the NHL.

What makes being captain of the Canadiens special is … Well, read the names:
Toe Blake
,
Maurice Richard
,
Doug Harvey
,
Jean Beliveau
,
Henri Richard
,
Yvan Cournoyer
,
Serge Savard
,
Bob Gainey
,
Chris Chelios
. Those are just some of the Hockey Hall of Fame members who have done it.
"When you're younger and there's not as much responsibility on your shoulders, you kind of let things like this pass by, and you don't really soak it all in," said Pacioretty, 29 and in his 10th season with the Canadiens. "I don't want to say you take it for granted, but you don't really appreciate all the history and the opportunities that we have here.
"I definitely take much, much more pride in it. The positives of playing in Montreal and being the captain so heavily outweigh any negatives that people talk about. I mean, it's such an honor to be a part of this game, but to be a captain in this game is something that I'll always remember."
Pacioretty is from New Canaan, Connecticut. When the Canadiens took him in the first round (No. 22) of the 2007 NHL Draft, he was interested in the future, not the past, even though his dad, Ray, talked about their history with him and his grandmother Theresa Savoie was from Montreal.
"At first, I was just kind of like, 'Yeah, yeah,' and took it for granted. I just wanted to play in the NHL,'" he said. "It obviously mattered where, but not as much as it should have."
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He spent one season at the University of Michigan, then three going up and down between Montreal and Hamilton of the American Hockey League. But then he spent his first full season with the Canadiens in 2011-12, dressing in that locker room inspired by the one at the old Forum, with all the plaques and the famous motto from the poem "In Flanders Fields."
"To you from failing hands we throw the torch. Be yours to hold it high."
When Beliveau died on Dec. 2, 2014, Montreal went into mourning for the player and person. Legends gathered to pay their respects. More than ever before, Pacioretty saw what it meant to wear the bleu, blanc et rouge.
When he was named captain on Sept. 18, 2015, he read a statement in French and said in English, "I don't believe I belong in the same sentence as any of those 28 other captains." Told that Beliveau's widow, Elise, said he should be captain, he fought back tears. He said he didn't want to look down at the "C" on his jersey because he didn't want to get too emotional.
This past summer, he stayed in Montreal for the first time, connecting with the city and fans, seeing legends at events.
"They all pretty much have the same stories, and it's not a surprise why they were always winning," Pacioretty said. "When they talk about stories, it was 23 guys pulling together. It's stuff that everyone says, but when you hear it from them, you understand why they had success and how special it was for them to put on that jersey, and it makes it more special for me as well."
Playing for the Canadiens, especially being captain of the Canadiens, comes with intense attention and pressure. There are media in two languages. There are sophisticated fans. The Canadiens have a big enough challenge to win the Cup for the first time since 1993, let alone live up to the past in a modern, 31-team league with a salary cap.
Early this season, the Canadiens were in an 0-5-1 slump in which Pacioretty didn't have a point. He told The Athletic: "Trust me, if you guys think I don't care, you've got it all wrong. If anything, I think too much and I care too much."
But asked Friday if the honor was worth it, he said: "Of course. It always is."
At an event like this, in this context, Pacioretty can't care too much. He will hold the torch as high as he can.
"I think of the history of the League and everything, but you know, the history of the Canadiens is probably the most storied in the sport," Pacioretty said. "So I think of all the greats that have come up and put on this jersey. You play for them. You play for their legacy."