Max Pacioretty taking charge, lining up to be the next captain of the Montréal Canadiens.

Great background piece on Max Pacioretty in La Presse, making the case for him to be the next team captain. It goes over various stages of his career.

I like this part:

«À l’été 2009, il pesait alors 90 kg et son taux de gras était de 17 %. L’été après sa blessure, il pesait 99 kg avec 8 % de gras. Bref, c’était un adolescent avec du gras de bébé et il est devenu un homme. En deux ans!»

L’ardeur de Pacioretty au gymnase est maintes fois soulignée par ses proches. On ne s’étonnera d’ailleurs pas de savoir que Martin St-Louis, un exemple de forme physique, fait partie de ses partenaires d’entraînement en été, au Connecticut.

«J’ai assisté au mariage de Max [à l'été 2011], raconte Prentiss. Vers 2 h du matin, il me dit: «Hey, on fait mes jambes demain?» J’ai éclaté de rire. Il dit: «Non, je suis sérieux!» Donc, à 13 h le lendemain du mariage, on était au gymnase, en train de travailler sur ses jambes! Il ne manque jamais un entraînement. Il en comprend la valeur.»

Translated:

“Summer of 2009, he weighed just under 200 lbs and had 17% body fat. The summer of 2011, he was at 218 with 8% body fat. In short, he was a teen with baby fat and he became a man. In two years!” (says Ben Prentiss, his trainer)

Max’s diligence in the gym is often noted by those who know him. It’s therefore no surprise to learn that Martin St-Louis, a model of physical conditioning, is one of his training partners during the summer in Connecticut.

“I went to his wedding the summer of 2011,” recalls Ben Prentiss. “Around 2 AM, he asks me ‘Hey, are we doing legs tomorrow?’ I burst out laughing. He says ‘No, I’m serious!’ So, at 1 PM the day after his wedding, we were in the gym, working on legs! He never misses a workout. He understands how valuable they are.”

Max is hitting his prime this season, he's on pace for a fourty-goal season, and his defensive play is no longer a blemish.  He's strongly in the 'plus' column and being used to kill penalties.

It grated on me recently when people on social media attacked Max as being ‘soft’ and ‘useless’, since he didn’t crash the net and muck and grind in the corners.  After the Two and a Half Men line season in 2011-12, things were great, but the season after he was being derided for not being Scott Hartnell, and this nonsense would crop up regularly.  I wonder where all these posters are now to defend their ludicrous position.