Max Pacioretty stands up for Alex Galchenyuk!

"It’s time to leave Alex Galchenyuk alone."

This is the title of Arpon Basu's latest article on The Athletic, which is about how the Montreal Canadiens' captain, Max Pacioretty, stood up for his teammate when he was asked about the 23-year-old's performances.

When Basu asked him what he expected from Galchy for the 2017-18 season, Patch was pretty clear: he had absolutely no intention to throw his teammate under the bus, and to put an additional layer of pressure on him.

"I just don’t get why it always has to be drama with him,” Pacioretty said. “He’s still young, and he doesn’t deserve all that drama."

That's the kind of things a good captain should say. This is going to be Galchenyuk's sixth season with the team, and as Basu said, "nearly every single day of his time as a professional hockey player has been smothered in that drama."

We certainly hope he will make sure this changes over the next few weeks with a bunch of goals and great performances.