Lars Eller is typically a soft-spoken player on and off the ice. But Thursday evening, Eller defended his former Montreal Canadiens teammate and captain Max Pacioretty against accusations that he was looking to be dealt from Montreal.
As a friend, I hope Max Pacioretty’s situation is resolved soon. He has shouldered one of the toughest jobs in hockey wearing the C for the CH, taking responsibility and blame for things beyond his control. At the same time being one of the top goal scorers in the game.
— Lars Eller (@lellerofficial) August 30, 2018
He is as committed and cares as much as anyone I’ve ever played with. Any team would be lucky to have him.
— Lars Eller (@lellerofficial) August 30, 2018
The drama surrounding Pacioretty started when the French media reported that he wanted a trade out of Montreal.
Pacioretty’s agent Allan Walsh took to Twitter to quash the rumors, saying those French sources came from the club. Walsh also mentioned that a deal with the Los Angeles Kings on draft day hinged on Pacioretty signing an extension, and fell through when he didn’t.
Max Pacioretty has stated repeatedly that he loves Montreal and wants to remain in Montreal. To this date, he’s never received any offer from Montreal. You can have 3 sources or 10 sources, how many times does Max have to state that he wants to remain in Montreal long term?
— Allan Walsh (@walsha) August 30, 2018
Obvious these “sources” are coming from the club. Max will always take the high road and repeats again, he is ready to sign an extension with Montreal TODAY. It was Montreal that traded Max to LA at the draft and it was a DONE DEAL subject to Max signing an extension with LA. https://t.co/KsLbJ6prJr
— Allan Walsh (@walsha) August 30, 2018
Tony Marinaro, a sports radio host for TSN 690 Montreal, backed those claims up, explaining that Pacioretty rejected a six year, $6 million deal with the Kings.
And, I can guarantee you that the deal was a done deal between MTL & LA. Only reason it didn’t happen was Pacioretty refused the 6 year x $6M contract the Kings offered him. Habs and SJ talked but Habs weren’t interested in what SJ had to offer
— Tony Marinaro (@TonyMarinaro) June 26, 2018
Still confused? Steve Dangle lays out the drama pretty well, before the Eller tweets.
Dangle followed up on the situation after Eller sent out his tweets Thursday evening.
Lars Eller is a Stanley Cup Champion.
— Steve Dangle Glynn (@Steve_Dangle) August 30, 2018
Headline image: Richard Wolowicz
