Playing career

Amateur

Pacioretty played high school hockey at New Canaan High School in which he led the state in points during his freshman year, and then moved on to The Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut. Pacioretty then played junior hockey for the Sioux City Musketeers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) for one season in 2006-07. He then signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Canadiens on July 17, 2008, thus forgoing his remaining eligibility at the University of Michigan.

Professional

Pacioretty made his NHL debut with the Montreal Canadiens on January 2, 2009, scoring his first NHL goal on his first NHL shot in a 4-1 loss against the New Jersey Devils. Upon his debut, he also became the first player in Montreal's lengthy franchise history to wear jersey number 67. After starting the 2010-11 season playing for the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League (AHL), the Canadiens' top minor league affiliate, Pacioretty was recalled for the second time to the NHL on December 12, 2010.

Returning to action during the 2011-12 season, Pacioretty would end the year as the team's points leader, finishing with a career-high 33 goals and 32 assists in 79 games, also winning the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for "perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey." He recorded his first career hat-trick on February 9, 2012, against the New York Islanders.

On August 12, 2012, Pacioretty signed a six-year, $27 million contract extension with the Canadiens. In September 2012, as a result of the impending labor lockout, he signed a contract to play overseas with Swiss National League A team HC Ambrì-Piotta.

On February 6, 2014, Pacioretty became the first Canadien to have two penalty shots awarded in the same game against the Vancouver Canucks and goaltender Roberto Luongo, also becoming just the second player in NHL history to be awarded two penalty shots in the same period. These were his second and third NHL career penalty shots, the first occurring earlier in the season on October 12, 2013, coincidentally also against the Canucks and Luongo. Pacioretty missed all three penalty shots, but nonetheless still scored a hat-trick in the February 6 game.

On September 15, 2014, Pacioretty was named an alternate captain of the Canadiens along with P. K. Subban, Tomáš Plekanec and Andrei Markov.

On September 18, 2015, Pacioretty was voted by the team to become the 29th captain in Canadiens history after going without a captain in the 2014-15 season with the departure of Brian Gionta.

Chara incident

On March 8, 2011, Pacioretty suffered an injury following a hit by Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chára. The force and location of the hit resulted in Pacioretty colliding with the stanchion at the end of the bench. He was taken off the ice on a stretcher after laying motionless on the ice for several minutes. The extent of the injury was revealed the next day to be a fracture to the 4th cervical vertebra (C4) and a severe concussion. One Bruin, Mark Recchi, questioned the severity of the concussion during an interview stating that Pacioretty was at a movie theater four days after the incident. For delivering the hit, Chára received a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct, and after reviewing videotape of the play the NHL decided no further punishment was warranted. However, a criminal investigation was announced by the Montreal Police Service. Additionally, Air Canada threatened to remove its League sponsorship if the NHL did not take any action to prevent further violence on ice. Pacioretty recovered in time to start the 2011-12 season with the Canadiens.

For Pacioretty's part, he could not remember the incident, but after seeing the tape said that he was "disgusted" that there was no fine or suspension. About two months later, he said that he thought Chára regretted his actions and that he forgave him.

Personal life

Pacioretty is the brother-in-law of former NHL player Maxim Afinogenov. In July 2011, Pacioretty married Afinogenov's sister, Katia. The couple welcomed their first child, a boy named Lorenzo, on December 23, 2013, in Montreal. They welcomed another child on June 12, 2015, named Maximus Raymond.

Pacioretty's paternal grandmother, Theresa Pacioretty (née Savoie) is a French-Canadian from Montreal.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2006-07	Sioux City Musketeers	USHL		60	21	42	63	119		7	4	6	10	10
2007-08	University of Michigan	CCHA		36	15	23	38	59		—	—	—	—	—
2008-09	Hamilton Bulldogs	AHL		37	6	23	29	43		—	—	—	—	—
2008-09	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		34	3	8	11	27		—	—	—	—	—
2009-10	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		52	3	11	14	20		—	—	—	—	—
2009-10	Hamilton Bulldogs	AHL		18	2	9	11	10		5	1	0	1	2
2010-11	Hamilton Bulldogs	AHL		27	17	15	32	20		—	—	—	—	—
2010-11	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		37	14	10	24	39		—	—	—	—	—
2011-12	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		79	33	32	65	56		—	—	—	—	—
2012-13	HC Ambrì-Piotta	NLA		5	1	0	1	4		—	—	—	—	—
2012-13	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		44	15	24	39	28		4	0	0	0	4
2013-14	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		73	39	21	60	35		17	5	6	11	8
2014-15	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		80	37	30	67	32		11	5	2	7	16
2015-16	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		82	30	34	64	34		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				481	174	170	344	271		32	10	8	18	28

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2008	United States	WJC	4th		6	0	0	0	8
2012	United States	WC	7th		8	2	10	12	4
2014	United States	Oly	4th		5	0	1	1	4
Junior totals					6	0	0	0	8
Senior totals					13	2	11	13	8

Awards and honours

Award	Year
All-CCHA Rookie Team	2007-08
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy	2012

[ Source: Wikipedia ]