Max Pacioretty, who is not P.K. Subban, named Canadiens captain

Max Pacioretty is going to be a terrific captain for the Montreal Canadiens. He plays the game with intensity, he says the right things and there are still sonnets being sung in praise of his battles back from injury.

The biggest problem with Pacioretty, who was named the 29th captain in Canadiens history on Friday by his teammates – and the third American, after Chris Chelios (co-captain) and Brian Gionta – is that he’s not P.K. Subban.

No one is, really. Subban is arguably the NHL’s most charismatic player, to the point where even his most ardent bashers have to acknowledge it. His philanthropic reputation, especially with young fans, is cemented – there aren’t too many NHLers donating $10 million to a children’s hospital. And being a star black athlete in a sport that’s constantly striving for diversity is a responsibility that isn't lost on any of us.

So for many, many reasons, Subban’s captaincy would have been roundly celebrated in the hockey world. Already you had some people saying the hospital donation should have clinched it for him.

My concern is that because Subban didn’t earn it, Pacioretty’s captaincy is going to be accepted as something inferior or, worse, problematic. Which is unfair to him, and a shame – fact of the matter is that the Canadiens have several players with captain qualities, and either Pacioretty or Subban would have made a fine one.

Marc Dumont of Eyes On The Prize offered this take:

Truthfully, it doesn't matter who is captain, seeing as Carey Price is the undisputed leader of the team, but Pacioretty's relentless work ethic on the ice makes him a fine choice. He's got tenacity, leadership, and talent to spare, and now he's the captain of the most storied NHL franchise. And to think, just a few years ago we were wondering if he'd ever play hockey again. With a strong supporting cast, I have no doubt that Pacioretty will do a great job fulfilling the captaincy role.

Subban, Andrei Markov, Tomas Plekanec and Brendan Gallagher are your alternate captain.

As Subban told CBC last week: "Whoever gets selected is going to have a bit of a responsibility, a little bit more than everybody else anyway. But we share that as a team. We share that responsibility as leaders to make sure that we're best preparing each other to play at a high level and to be where we want to be at the end of the year."

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