While the National Hockey League is on a break, it's time to take a look at what has happened since the start of the 2021-2022 season. While the Montreal Canadiens are having a hard time filling the opposing net this season, their former captain, Max Pacioretty, is not.
Indeed, the one who wore the «C» from 2015 to 2018 with the Canadiens is having a great start to the season. Initially bothered by a lower-body injury, Pacioretty took some time to make his debut, but after 15 games, he already scored 12 goals and nine assists, for a total of 21 points.
Alongside his regular linemates Mark Stone and Chandler Stephenson, number 67 managed to straighten out his team, which, after a slow start to the season, now sits atop the Pacific Division with 40 points. However, the successes of this trio aren't new, and the three men have been happily producing for quite some time now, as evidenced by the 91 points (including 48 goals) of Pacioretty in the last 82 regular season meetings in which he participated.
Not to mention, Pacioretty has never produced so much since his arrival in the big league during the 2008-09 campaign. By comparison, the 33-year-old American would currently be the Montreal Canadiens' first scorer in points and goals, ahead of Nick Suzuki, even though he missed more than half of his team's games this season. This says a lot about the performances of the CH players, but also about the exploits that Pacioretty achieves.
In short, the goal here is not to turn the iron in the wound, because I sincerely believe that Nick Suzuki will be a sure value for the Canadiens for many years, but this exchange that seemed at first glance one-way for the Habs looks more and more like a win-win exchange, considering that the goal of the Golden Knights is to win in the short run.
