Max Pacioretty is eager to move forward as Montreal Canadiens captain and put a season that was sidetracked by a knee injury and trade rumors behind him.
The 29-year-old forward had 37 points (17 goals, 20 assists) in 64 games last season and missed the final 18 games because of the injury. It was his fewest goals and points since 2010-11.
"So [it's] a clean slate [and] I'm just going to worry about things I can control, and that's making sure I'm ready to come into camp in shape and ready to be able to produce this year, and that's what we're looking forward to," Pacioretty told TVA Sports on Sunday.
Pacioretty, who has been Canadiens captain since Sept. 18, 2015, has one season remaining on a six-year contract. He can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2019 and has been the subject of trade rumors.
"This summer especially opened up my eyes a lot," Pacioretty said. "I always knew that the support was there … it's really encouraging to me that I have such great support in the city."
The Canadiens (29-40-13, 71 points) finished 26 points behind the New Jersey Devils for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. It was their fewest points in a full season since 2000-01 (70).
"I've never had an offseason like this where I'm coming off a bad year," Pacioretty said. "It was my first bad year. Our team is coming off a horrible year as well."
Selected by the Canadiens in the first round (No. 22) of the 2007 NHL Draft, Pacioretty has 448 points (226 goals, 222 assists) in 626 regular-season games and 19 points (10 goals, nine assists) in 38 playoff games. He's has scored at least 30 goals in a season five times, including four straight from 2013-17.
"It's been a long time since I've played," he said. "I waited a while to get back on the ice; I've only skated for [two to three] weeks right now. That's something that's not ordinary for me, but now I'm ready to ramp it up and I'm spending a lot of time on the ice now … I feel really good about where I'm at."
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