It’s not a surprise that Max Pacioretty was voted by his teammates to become the 29th captain in Montreal Canadiens history after being one of the 4 alternate captains during the 2014-15 season. The announcement came this morning from the Habs’ Twitter account, along with the announcement that Tomas Plekanec, P.K. Subban, Andrei Markov, and Brendan Gallagher would stay alongside Pacioretty as alternate captains.
The third US-born player to captain the team has made quite the impression in Montreal. In his career with the Habs, he’s recorded 144 goals in 399 games and has had three 30-plus goal seasons. He also contributed another 18 points during the playoffs, including 10 goals in 32 games. He’s a hardworking left-winger to say the least.
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Overall, Pacioretty best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, dedication to the game, and appreciation for his fans. These traits are very similar to the one’s the late Jean Béliveau displayed during his 18 full seasons with the Canadiens.
While he idolized former New York Rangers captain Mark Messier growing up, Pacioretty had the chance to meet Béliveau when he first got to Montreal. Béliveau would become the man who he’d idolize when it came to a player who set the perfect example of what to be off the ice.
“I really became aware of his greatness as a man and as a captain when he died.” he said via the Toronto Sun. “When you heard all these legends talk about ‘our captain,’ like Guy Lapointe, I became more aware of what it is to be captain of the Montreal Canadiens.”
The Rat Trick
Some of us fans are either too young to remember Béliveau on the ice or weren’t born yet to witness one of the greatest hockey players in Canadiens history, let alone the world.
There are many accomplishments we can point out about “Le Gross Bill.” He was the 4th player during his second season to score 500 goals and the second to score 1,000 points. He won two Hart Memorial Trophies as league MVP during 1956 and 1964, and one Art Ross Memorial Trophy as top scorer in 1956 along with the inaugural Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
He was a 10 time Stanley Cup winner and was part of another seven as an executive with the Canadiens, which is the most cup victories that any player in the NHL has achieved. He played in the first NHL All-Star game, earned an NHL Lifetime Achievement Award, was the First Team All-Star for six straight seasons, and is still the second all-time leading scorer in Canadiens history.
December 3rd, 2014;
Hockey legend Jean Beliveau scored 507 goals in his career.
Credit: Richard Wolowicz-Getty Images
His greatest achievement though? His leadership both on and off the ice.
Béliveau on the ice was similar to one of those crazy but perfect events that happens in movies. It was something that looked and felt unreal. He was a powerful skater whose air of composed confidence made him a natural leader in the game.
It’s actually not a surprise at all that former Canadiens captain Saku Koivu is tied with Béliveau for the title of longest-serving Canadiens captain. Both men were concentrated on playing for the team first before playing for themselves and treated their teammates as family, at times taking some of the guys under their wing. Their stats were also quite impressive.
Off the ice, however, was an entirely different story. Béliveau was a gentleman, especially towards his fans. During the height of his career in the 1950’s and 1960’s, he penned a personal reply to each piece of fan mail he received. He never once complained about his hand hurting from replying back to the several hundred fan letters every week, and always made time to pose for photos and chat with fans.
Not only was his respect towards fans admired, but his work and charity didn’t go unnoticed either. His first cheque as a Hab for $155,855 kick-started the the Jean Béliveau Foundation, which over the past few decades has distributed nearly $2 million to organizations helping sick, underprivileged and physically challenged children.
It didn’t stop there. During a special retirement night in 1971 by the Canadiens organization, he asked that they raise money for the foundation him and his wife, Elise were starting to support a camp for disabled children near Joliette, Quebec instead of giving him the usual television set or car. Even during his 75th birthday in 2006, Béliveau along with Guy Lafleur, Gordie Howe, and former prime minister Jean Chrétien raised over $1M for children’s hospitals around the province during his special dinner organized by the Canadiens.
His charitable donations during his hockey days along with his strong leadership and kind heart went on until his passing on December 2nd, 2014.
When it comes to being captain of a team, it’s a privilege that comes with responsibility. You’ve got to be vocal in the locker room, be approachable, have passion for the game, and be a leader who represents the team well. When it comes to all of those responsibilities and more, it makes why Pacioretty earned the “C.”
Apr 26, 2015; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Montreal Canadiens left wing Max Pacioretty (67) during the warm-up in game six against Ottawa Senators of the first round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports
One of the biggest reasons he earned the name “captain,” is his dedication to the team and the game as well as the praise he gives to his hard-working teammates before and after each game.
When asked about leadership in an October 18th, 2014 article by the Montreal Gazette, he said “I felt very comfortable about it. A lot of it has to do with the guys we have on the team, helping me along the way. It’s not just me. It’s three other leaders and Carey and even some of the younger guys. So far it’s been a treat and I’ve really enjoyed it.”
Pacioretty also displays the same charitable trait Béliveau had. In 2011, he created The Max Pacioretty Foundation, to support the traumatic brain injury project and help purchase a state-of-the-art advanced High Performance MRI machine for the hospital that cared for him when he suffered a severe concussion and broken vertebra during a game at the Bell Centre.
And he’s no stranger at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, which he visits with the team every year. “Every year you come back and I guess you forget how meaningful it is. Obviously it’s a bit more magnified this year with Jean Béliveau… him being the player that started this. It kind of puts things into perspective and makes you really realize how special this event is.” via CTV.
Overall, last night’s vote for captain went well. While there any many players on the Habs’ roster who display captain-like abilities, Max Pacioretty is the one player the team can and will benefit from. He’s not Jean, because Jean is one in a million, but Pacioretty is close enough. Plus, any player Elise Béliveau considers to be captain material and Jean-like is the right player to wear the “C.”
What do you think of the players’ choice for captain? Do you think another player deserves to be captain more than Pacioretty? Let us know in the comments below!
Next: Canadiens Captaincy: The Case for Max Pacioretty
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