There are times when the unexplainable happens and you fall in love with a team for no reason. I was in grade 12 and just starting to watch Hockey Night in Canada. Analytics were a foreign concept to me and all I knew was I hated Toronto. I guess I first started watching the Habs during their run that was fuelled by Halak but I can't really say I was a fan. I liked Price and Subban from the World Juniors but did not know how great Markov really is and why Plekanec is awesome. I know this now though don't worry.
I was won over by a really bad event. I was won over when Pacioretty had his neck fractured and was knocked unconscious by Zdeno Chara. I remember coming home and TSN being on. They warned about the disturbing scene and I watched it and was shocked. What I didn't know was how callus the media in Boston was towards Pacioretty. I didn't like how he was blamed for something he did nothing in. I hated how the Bruins accused Pacioretty of faking his concussion to get Chara suspended when a quick Google search showed that being unconscious for the amount of time he was unconscious for meant he had a severe concussion. I liked how Pacioretty reached out and talked to the media, making Bob McKenzie change his mind. And Geoff Molson promising to try to change things. Molson holds little power but cares about his players deeply.
From that I was a fan. That summer I spent six weeks in Montreal to work on my French and I stumbled upon the Centennial Plaza where statues of the Canadiens greats watch over Le Centre Bell. I spent a long time there, taking it all in. I should have gone into the Montreal Canadiens Hall of Fame but that will happen in good time. The next year the Habs sucked and the Jets were back but my heart was with the Habs. I still watch the Jets but I don't care as much. The Habs are the team that can frustrate me to no end and can lift me up for no reason. The Jets just confuse me.
A couple games later Subban scored a hat trick against Minnesota and was asked about Pacioretty. Subban admitted to texting him a lot, worried that he was giving Pacioretty headaches. Thoughtful one that Subban is. Subban seemed to be the friend that is always there for his teammates, even though he annoys them from time to time. Subban fell out of love with the media when he was in negotiations with the Habs over an RFA deal. The Habs wanted short term for falling cap reasons and Subban wanted long term because he loves the Habs. He was painted as greedy and selfish. The media couldn't separate their own biased opinions on the player from the actual player and they made one of the great personalities of the game freeze them out. And I like that.
I remember one game in particular in that horrible 2011-2012 season for the Habs. They were the late game on HNiC and Markov was playing his first game in over a year and Pacioretty had just scored 30 goals a year after that incident with Chara (of course PK set him up for his 30th into an empty net exactly one year after that dastardly day). Markov set up PK for a goal and looked like he had won the lottery. After the game Scott Oake interviewed Pacioretty in an interview that can only be described as awkward. Oake promised Pacioretty to not talk about "the hit" and that was all Oake asked him about for 15 minutes. Not only did Pacioretty graciously answer every question, he never complained about it. He went on to win the Masterton Trophy and seemed happy to not have to talk about "the hit" anymore.
Recently Pacioretty has all but told the media that they don't understand the game they watch. And he's right. He doesn't care what the media thinks about him because he's smart (he could have gone to an Ivy League school but the hockey wasn't as good as University of Michigan) and articulate. And almost always right.
Sure Subban is awesome and we don't deserve to inhabit the same planet as him most nights and Plekanec may be the most underrated player because no one ever even talks about him but Pacioretty may be the player that is the least thought of scoring winger. He's not a lock of the US Olympic team even though he is the second highest even strength scorer next to Kane for Americans in the past 2 years. Subban is the star that radiates so brightly you can see it in space but Pacioretty is the one who will speak his mind and not worry about the waves he causes. He is awesome and between him and Subban I learned to love the Habs.
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