Max Pacioretty: Montreal Canadiens 29th Captain Debuts

Maximillian Kolenda Pacioretty: Montreal Canadiens 29th Captain Debuts

When we polled who the Captain would be this season, 45% of you got the answer right by selecting Max Pacioretty. The other two highest totals went to P.K. Subban (19%) and Brendan Gallagher (18%). Interestingly, the top 2 selections were chosen in the same draft year (2007) 21 picks apart. When you consider that the Habs also selected Ryan McDonagh (NYR’s Captain) 12th overall that same year, it’s impressive to say the least. What an incredible feat to draft 3 Captain worthy players in one draft.

May 1, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman

(55) is checked by Montreal Canadiens left wing Max Pacioretty (67) in front of goalie

(30) during the fourth period in game one of the second round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

After dealing with an injury for the entire summer, Pacioretty will return to the lineup tonight vs the Ottawa Senators. It’s an encouraging addition to the lineup since there were plenty who believed he wouldn’t be making his first start in the lineup until at least 1 week into the regular season.

Having said that, the issue with his leg isn’t entirely resolved yet:

"“I still do have a little bit of a limp, but at the end of the day, skating’s a little bit easier than walking because you’re gliding,” “I just feel much better on the ice than I do on dry land. I think that’s to be expected from what the doctors have told me. So I feel good; I’ve made good progress.”"

While we’d love to see Mad Max in mid-season form tonight, the real focus will be on getting him up-to-speed and reigniting the chemistry with Tomas Plekanec and Brendan Gallagher.

If Max Pacioretty does remain healthy through the majority of the season, what should we expect from the newly branded Habs Captain?

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/1/2015.

Since 2011-12, Pacioretty has been the go-to player when the Habs need scoring. During that time, there have been few who are so important to the team’s offensive output aside from Tomas Plekanec and more recently Brendan Gallagher.

There are a few things to consider when looking through his stats. First, the lack of PP output is indicative of the Habs failure on the PP overall, not of his performance on the PP. Second, most top-end forwards play over 20 minutes per game. Last season was the first time Pacioretty got close to that mark. It will be interesting to see if he can surpass that this season, and whether or not any of the fixes in the PP impact his offensive numbers substantially.

Feb 7, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Edmonton Oilers assistant coach

smiles on the bench during a break in the action against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. Toronto defeated Edmonton 5-1. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Let’s assume for one moment that the Craig Ramsey and J.J. Daigneault can get the Habs PP to a more respectable 19% level (mid-level last season), up from 16.5%.  That would be a total of 48 goals if they had the same PP opportunities (243) as last season, up from 40 last season. If we award a few of these to Pacioretty, and he plays as well as we know he can, there’s little reason to doubt that he could reach 40 goals for the first time in his career.

And that doesn’t even take into account the expectations that Brendan Gallagher will be able to take another step forward offensively. With Alexander Semin, Alex Galchenyuk, and Lars Eller seemingly cemented as the 2nd line, is there a chance that the top line in Montreal stays together all year long? If so, there’s a great chance the entire line will improve their statistics overall. What kind of improvement would be the best case scenario? It’s really hard to guess and depends on so many factors, but I’d hazard the following:

• Plekanec: 25 G, 45 A, 70 Pts
• Gallagher: 28 G, 32 A, 60 Pts
• Pacioretty: 41 G, 34 A, 75 Pts

On the surface, this doesn’t look like much of a jump for Plekanec and Pacioretty, but when you consider how many tight games the Habs have found themselves in the last two years, small increases in offensive output go farther than usual.

Another way to look at what to expect would be to take a closer look at his PS progression, which has jumped from 9 in 2011-12, to 9.6 in 2013-14 and 10.9 in 2014-15. The bulk of his PS increase comes from defensive improvements, as his DPS over the same span has increased as follows: 1.9, 2.0, and 3.4 respectively. Simply put, Max Pacioretty seems to be playing a much better game defensively and is a much more rounded and mature player as a result. We can expect those defensive improvements to continue this season.

If you want a different look at what to expect from Pacioretty, you can check out HappyCaraT of EOTP who presents another way of looking at his upcoming season here.

AS CAPTAIN

The transition to Captain should be fairly seamless for Max Pacioretty, aside from the fact that he’ll likely be the focus of attention more often in pre and post-game interviews and mentions. He’s already used to wearing the A, knows he has the support of his team mates since they voted for him, and he’s been in Montreal long enough to have a well-built relationship with media.

In truth, the only way this will change Max Pacioretty is in how he internalizes the role he has been handed. Everyone has their own view on what a Captain should be, how he should act, and what responsibilities he needs to address going forward. If he decides to put more pressure on himself to lead by example, he may very well reach new career highs in most areas. Or, it may alter his game so much due to the pressure he places on himself that he has a hard time replicating last year’s totals. I’d lean more towards the increase in output right now, with the first step of getting there being sharpening his skills tonight vs the Sens.

May 7, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Montreal Canadiens left wing Max Pacioretty (67) is congratulated by teammates after he scored a short handed goal during the first period against the Tampa Bay Lightning in game four of the second round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

We’re all going to hope that our new Captain completes a successful and healthy season in 2015-16 and can lead the Habs to new heights. Enjoy the game tonight as we see him sporting the C for the first time. He’s earned the respect of his peers and fans alike, and now he gets to put his name in the history books as having worn the C for the greatest and most storied NHL franchise.

Pacioretty will not be the only Habs player making his debut tonight as Noah Juulsen will also be joining the team for his pre-season debut. We profiled what we consider to be the best prospect defenseman the Habs have in their system here.

What are your thoughts on the season we can expect from Max Pacioretty this year? Do you expect more of the same, an improvement, or a decline?

Next: Montreal Canadiens Captain: Gallagher or Pacioretty?

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