Breaking: NHL captain has been playing through a broken foot.

He's often been the target of criticism for his poor play this season, but now there's a very good reason to explain the decline in his performance.

A breaking news report from Sportsnet insiders Elliotte Friedman and Eric Engels has just revealed that Montreal Canadiens Max Pacioretty has reportedly been playing through a broken foot this season, obviously a major injury.

According to Friedman Pacioretty was dealing with the injury throughout the month of November, but has reportedly managed to recover from the injury despite playing through it and is now healed. 

It's exactly the kind of sacrifice and leadership that die-hard fans would expect from their captain, and it's a true credit to the toughness of Pacioretty who has been under fire in the Montreal media while dealing with this injury.

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