Max Pacioretty

Max Pacioretty (born November 20, 1988) is an American professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was called up from the American Hockey League (AHL) for the second time on December 12, 2010. He was drafted 22nd overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens.

Playing career
Pacioretty played high school hockey at New Canaan High School during his freshman year, and then moved on to The Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut. He signed a three-year contract with the Canadiens on July 17, 2008, thus forgoing his remaining eligibility at the University of Michigan.

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. He is the first player in franchise history to wear the jersey #67.

Chara incident
On March 8, 2011, Pacioretty suffered an injury following a hit by Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara. 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 Chara 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. Additionally, Air Canada threatened to remove its sponsorship if the league does not take any action to prevent further violence on ice. Pacioretty recovered in time to start the 2011-12 NHL season with the Canadiens.

Personal life
Pacioretty is the brother-in-law of former NHL player Maxim Afinogenov. In July 2011, Pacioretty married Afinogenov's sister Katia.