MONTREAL – Max Pacioretty is really feeling the love in Montreal now. The 26-year-old left winger has just been named the 29th captain of the Montreal Canadiens, as voted by his teammates.
READ MORE: Max Pacioretty named 29th captain of Canadiens
Here are five things you may not have known about the Habs’ new leader:
American captains
He’s the third American to take on the top job of captain.
The others are Chris Chelios (who served as co-captain with Guy Carbonneau) and Brian Gionta, who left the Canadiens to join the Buffalo Sabres in 2014.
A Montrealer at heart
His ties to Montreal are stronger than you may think.
His paternal grandmother Theresa Pacioretty (née Savoie) is a French-Canadian from Montreal.
Habs’ leading scorer
Pacioretty was the Canadiens’ leading scorer last season with an impressive 37 goals – fifth overall in the NHL.
During the 2011-12 season, he became the first American-born player to score more than 30 goals in a season with the Canadiens.
Team USA
Despite his love of Montreal, Pacioretty’s patriotic heart is back in the States.
The Connecticut native played for Team U.S.A. in the 2014 Sochi Olympics as well as the U.S. Men’s National Team in 2012 and the U.S. National Junior Team in 2008.
Once a Hab, always a Hab
Pacioretty has never played for another NHL team.
His NHL career started when he was drafted in the first round, 22nd overall, in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by Montreal.
During the 2014-15 season, Pacioretty was named an alternate captain of the Canadiens along with P. K. Subban, Tomáš Plekanec and Andrei Markov.
rachel.lau@globalnews.ca
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