News Article: Pacioretty: "Everyone has a shelf life" in Montreal

[McGuires Corndog]

Yes, that did happen, but the topic is that he left on bad terms.

I believe at the time he was quite upset about that, but other than that I don’t think he left on “bad terms” per say.

 

[Habs Halifax]

At least Habs fans are realistic unlike Leafs fans who are eternal optimists.

I wonder how many loyal Leafs fans there are that are 40+? Seems like they have a lot of younger fans and ones who came out of the closet once they inserted their young guns.

 

[CHwest]

Many players are in it for the wrong reasons imo. What Max says is mostly true, but I think that’s in the players, not Montreal.

If I was the star player in my sport I would welcome the opportunity to play in the sports Mecca, ie montreal/Toronto for hockey, but players don’t care about that anymore. They want their pay check and to be left alone. I would want to showcase my talents where they are appreciated the most. Oh well, we will likely never return to those days.

Why do you consider Montreal a sports mecca? Serious question.

 

[Habs Halifax]

There are some truth to his comments. At the same time, it’s all about himself.

He was our captain and he probably felt we didn't embrace him as captain. We valued him as a top line winger but he had no center and he was not a good leader for us. Probably feels betrayed but he performance before he left was weak. Partly our fault for not finding a center and partly his fault for be sensitive to the critics? Yeah, Patch, Montreal is not Vegas.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

Why do you consider Montreal a sports mecca? Serious question.

I don’t, only for hockey. My wording may not have been the best, but if I was a superstar player and could choose anywhere in the world to showcase my skills it would be here. The center stage, until recently, a history of excellence, a rabid fan base with some of the most knowledgeable in the world. This is where I want to be, not in Florida on some beach where no one knows who I am. I want the stage to show case my game. Bring it on, I say.

 

[DAChampion]

What do you base this on?

Toward the end of Koivu's term in Montreal the media had turned against him. He was blamed for "the culture of losing" (seriously) and there were constant unfounded rumours in the media about him and Kovalev fighting to be the alpha. The media made up the same shit a few years later with the fabrication of a Subban-Pacioretty fight.

The Habs also gave up tremendous assets to sign a lesser player (Gomez) to a larger contract.

 

[Garnet76]

Every player has a self life in pro sports period.

 

[OldCraig71]

Pacioretty probably answered a question that he didn't care to, he shouldn't have been named captain in Montreal, he is not that type of player and the pressure got to him. I wonder what he would have been if not for the Chara incident and the Letang hit that got him suspended.

 

[holy]

He’s a bum, you control your own destiny. No wonder he wasn’t captain material.

 

[JianYang]

Toward the end of Koivu's term in Montreal the media had turned against him. He was blamed for "the culture of losing" (seriously) and there were constant unfounded rumours in the media about him and Kovalev fighting to be the alpha. The media made up the same shit a few years later with the fabrication of a Subban-Pacioretty fight.

The Habs also gave up tremendous assets to sign a lesser player (Gomez) to a larger contract.

The media issue was persistent in his career, but it's something he learned to play through very early in his career, especially when the team was going through rough stretches.

I mean, what about taking a picture of his eye while he was in the hospital back in 2006, or the koivu/ Ribeiro thing. Koivu just had the ability to let those things not affect his own play, or bother his own headspace.

Leaving on bad terms implies that he had bad blood with habs management, particularly Gainey, but I haven't seen any evidence of that. He left speaking glowingly of the city and franchise. There was understandably a sense of shock, which is bound to happen after being a habs player for 16 years, but there was also a sense of resignation even before the call from Gainey that this chapter was closing.

As for Gomez, they had been going after some big name centers ever since Gainey got on board whether it was Lecavalier, Briere, Sundin, or even Gomez himself a couple years earlier. Not once during those times was there any credible source indicating that these moves would be at the expense of koivu. They were looking to add.

Yes, Gomez came into the picture in 2009, and Koivu came out, but this was just the tip of the iceberg for all the other unprecedented number of moves to come that off season and it was a signal of a major pivot from their previous strategy.

It wasn't an indication to me that they made moves because they identified koivu as a problem. But when the organization is looking for a fresh start, an expiring contract of a mid 30s player becomes a very likely candidate to move on.

 

[Runner77]

The only thing that doesn’t have a shelf life, are Pacioretty’s Presti commercials. I can’t believe 690 is still running them.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

 

[Gamimenos]

“Everyone told me it: ex-players, current players, fans, everyone said: everyone has a shelf life here. [People told me to] enjoy [Montreal] while you’re here, but make sure that you don’t let it affect you too much because everyone seems to go out in a not-so-positive way.”
"Everyone has a shelf life there": Pacioretty opens up about Canadiens exit | Offside

And yours was exactly 82 regular season games, Max.

 

[Sorinth]

He and Cammalleri are two players that did not like being booed. In their final seasons, both weren't producing and were booed. They could not stand it.

To be honest, they gave such good service that they shouldn't have been booed. They're both scorers that need someone to get them the puck, and it was management's fault for the weak center position.

Having said that, no Max, not everyone leaves on a bad note.

Who was the last good player who didn't leave on a bad note where fans thought they sucked or hated them for leaving?

 

[26Mats]

Who was the last good player who didn't leave on a bad note where fans thought they sucked or hated them for leaving?

Sergachev is the first that comes to mind. Markov? Did fans hate Kirk Muller, Mathieu Schneider, John Leclair, and Eric Desjardins when they were traded?

But players tend to get traded when they're on a downslide.

Players like Koivu, Cammalleri, Gionta, Eric Cole, etc... were on the downside.

pacioretty wasn't. It just appeared like he was because management didn't have a single playmaker on the entire roster that could get him the puck. It looked to some like he didn't haven't "it." To others of us it was clear the roster was poorly constructed in general, and in the playmaking domain in particular. MB didn't only say "the defense is better" he also said Drouin is better than Radulov. Ha, good one Marc.

 

[Sorinth]

Sergachev is the first that comes to mind. Markov? Did fans hate Kirk Muller, Mathieu Schneider, John Leclair, and Eric Desjardins when they were traded?

But players tend to get traded when they're on a downslide.

Players like Koivu, Cammalleri, Gionta, Eric Cole, etc... were on the downside.

pacioretty wasn't. It just appeared like he was because management didn't have a single playmaker on the entire roster that could get him the puck. It looked to some like he didn't haven't "it." To others of us it was clear the roster was poorly constructed in general, and in the playmaking domain in particular. MB didn't only say "the defense is better" he also said Drouin is better than Radulov. Ha, good one Marc.

I'm not sure Sergachev or McDonagh for that matter really count given how little they played for us. Markov definitely left on a bad note (Management moreso then with the fans in his case).

It's what been like 25 years since Muller/Scheider/Leclair/Desjardins were traded. So that kind of highlights Pacioretty's point. In today's environment you will almost certainly get thrown under the bus in an attempt to drive you out of town. And it's not like that in other places, and is something we will need to change if this team is going to have any real success.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

Who was the last good player who didn't leave on a bad note where fans thought they sucked or hated them for leaving?

A lot did not came back at end of contract and there has been mixed versions from both sides like Kovalev, Radulov and Markov. Camallerri was traded and was anger towards Habs team, also Domi, Galchenyuk, even Sherback and of course Lablanc. We can go as far as Lafleur. Koivu saved his face and Gainey too. They did a mutual separation arrangement, maybe because both men are classy. Ribeiro is mad at Habs, Turgeon half bitter and Damphousse is cool. Not every indidual deals the same and not every separation have the same story.

 

[Sorinth]

At least Habs fans are realistic unlike Leafs fans who are eternal optimists.

I would much rather our fan base be eternal optimist then what it is.

As for being realistic that's a joke. We overhype our players just as much as the leafs the only difference is that when they don't singlehandedly carry the team to a cup we turn on them and bash them relentlessly.

 

[26Mats]

I'm not sure Sergachev or McDonagh for that matter really count given how little they played for us. Markov definitely left on a bad note (Management moreso then with the fans in his case).

It's what been like 25 years since Muller/Scheider/Leclair/Desjardins were traded. So that kind of highlights Pacioretty's point. In today's environment you will almost certainly get thrown under the bus in an attempt to drive you out of town. And it's not like that in other places, and is something we will need to change if this team is going to have any real success.

Pacioretty shouldn't have been booed, and gets too much hate on these boards.

He's a goal scorer that needs a playmaker to play with and MB didn't provide him with one his final season.

It was Marc's fault and Max has a right to be soir towards the fans for erroneously turning on him when he was not producing and not doing anything else.

But not all players leave on a bad note. Those not producing and generally being useless, do tend to leave on a bad note, and those are the majority of players that get traded. Especially during the MB era because he was short sighted and made all his decisions based on recent play.

So I agree with him that the fand can turn on players too quickly and harshly ( Brisebois, Desharnais, Cammalleri, and Pacioretty), they don't turn on all players. They demonstrated when Kovakev was traded and cheered when Koivu and Subban returned.

Pacioretty, like Cammalleri just left in bad circumstances that the fans misinterpreted imo.

 

[Sorinth]

Pacioretty shouldn't have been booed, and gets too much hate on these boards.

He's a goal scorer that needs a playmaker to play with and MB didn't provide him with one his final season.

It was Marc's fault and Max has a right to be soir towards the fans for erroneously turning on him when he was not producing and not doing anything else.

But not all players leave on a bad note. Those not producing and generally being useless, do tend to leave on a bad note, and those are the majority of players that get traded. Especially during the MB era because he was short sighted and made all his decisions based on recent play.

So I agree with him that the fand can turn on players too quickly and harshly ( Brisebois, Desharnais, Cammalleri, and Pacioretty), they don't turn on all players. They demonstrated when Kovakev was traded and cheered when Koivu and Subban returned.

Pacioretty, like Cammalleri just left in bad circumstances that the fans misinterpreted imo.

Keep in mind the "bad note" is a mix of fans, media, management. Subban didn't leave on a bad note with the fans, but he certainly did with management and some of the media.

This is maybe a bit off topic but the Habs organization should really start to cutout the middleman (Current Media) and deal directly with the fans. All the tools exist to engage with the fans and there's really no need to put up with "journalist" who just want to stir up controversy in order to generate clicks/eyeballs. For example there's no reason the team couldn't produce far more interesting articles then any blog or sports media article, it doesn't have to be relentless optimistic cheerleading but just avoiding the "hate/bashing" while still be interesting due to having better access to personalities/data would draw traffic and help create less of a circus atmosphere. Create a good podcast such that people would rather listen to that then tune into mediocre radio shows, again you don't need fluff everything is rainbows, just avoiding the worst aspects of the current media would be enough to make a difference in the overall atmosphere.

 

[26Mats]

Keep in mind the "bad note" is a mix of fans, media, management. Subban didn't leave on a bad note with the fans, but he certainly did with management and some of the media.

This is maybe a bit off topic but the Habs organization should really start to cutout the middleman (Current Media) and deal directly with the fans. All the tools exist to engage with the fans and there's really no need to put up with "journalist" who just want to stir up controversy in order to generate clicks/eyeballs. For example there's no reason the team couldn't produce far more interesting articles then any blog or sports media article, it doesn't have to be relentless optimistic cheerleading but just avoiding the "hate/bashing" while still be interesting due to having better access to personalities/data would draw traffic and help create less of a circus atmosphere. Create a good podcast such that people would rather listen to that then tune into mediocre radio shows, again you don't need fluff everything is rainbows, just avoiding the worst aspects of the current media would be enough to make a difference in the overall atmosphere.

That's a really good idea.

It's a hard balance to strike - not being a cheerleader and being honest.

Ronaldinho recently said he was so happy that Messi transfered to PSG because he also played at PSG and Barcelona and both clubs have a special place in his heart.

Problem is, Ronaldinho's a paid ambassador at FC Barcelona, and they are furious at him for making these personal, from the heart comments...