Pacioretty says Therrien’s ‘worst captain’ comments ‘obviously not true’

TORONTO – As the United States prepared for the World Cup of Hockey, coach John Tortorella called out forward Max Pacioretty’s effort. “I need more out of him,” he said during the exhibition schedule.

“Torts was asked a question. And he answered it,” said Pacioretty, whose play improved in the team’s third game. “As I’ve learned in Montreal, that when things like that happen and it gets blown out of proportion, it makes you closer. And I had good conversations with him after that.”

So the air was clear with one coach that called him out.

What about the other one?

According to a report from radio host Michel Villeneuve’s program, Montreal Canadiens coach Michel Therrien was overheard saying on a golf course that Pacioretty is “the worst captain” in Canadiens history.

That captain’s reaction?

“There’s worse lists to be on,” said Pacioretty, who was named captain in 2015.

“Being on a list of Canadiens captains is a pretty good list to be on.”

After the Therrien comments went viral, Pacioretty said he spoke to his coach and feels that his words were erroneously reported. “It’s unfortunate that something like that would get made-up, catch wildfire and spread,” he said in Toronto on Wednesday. “This is something that’s obviously not true. I’m not going to sit here and pout. It is unfortunate. It is something I don’t want to deal with.”

Pacioretty said he’s had conversations with Therrien and his teammates since the story broke and feels it’s a rallying point for the team.

“It’s unfortunate that someone would make something like that up. But it brings us closer together. Having that approach of handling it the right way. I promise this team is going to be on board and everyone’s going to be on the same page this year, and this is a small example of it. I’ve spoken to the coach many times. I’ve spoken to him since then. I’ve spoken to players on the team. And we’re all on the same page. We’re going to show that this year,” he said.

“I’ve been in Montreal for eight years, and I know there are right ways to handle this and wrong ways to handle this, and the right way to handle it is to be positive and use it the right way. The conversations that you have with people after a thing like this aren’t normal conversations. They bring people closer together. They tend to be a little bit more emotional, and you speak from the heart.”

Pacioretty said that in all of his conversations, he took solace in the support he received. “Whether it was the coach, the general manager or the players, everyone had my back,” he said.

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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