Max Pacioretty sidelined 12 weeks after off-ice knee injury

The Montreal Canadiens start the 2015-16 season on Oct. 7 on the road against the Toronto Maple Leafs. There's now a possibility the guy who’s led them in scoring in each of the past four seasons won’t be in the lineup at Air Canada Centre.

This week’s Friday Afternoon Bad News Dump comes from the Canadiens, who announced that Max Pacioretty injured his knee during an off-ice workout and is expected to be back in 12 weeks. Twelve weeks brings us to early October, right before next season begins.

The 26-year old Paciorety is coming off the best offensive season of his career after posting 37 goals and 67 points for the Habs. He was also the team’s second-leading scorer in the playoffs with five goals and seven points in 11 games.

Without being able to finish his off-season program and losing out on training camp, it will be interesting to see how long it takes us to see a 100-percent Pacioretty again.

Then again, he does seem to have this knack for returning early from injury.

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy