Max Pacioretty has been named the 29th captain in the illustrious history of the Montreal Canadiens.
The team announced Friday the left winger and former Michigan Wolverine would take over the role after they spent a season without a captain.
Pacioretty, 26, spent just one season (2007-08) playing for the University of Michigan, but it was a dominant one in which he scored 15 goals and 23 assists in 36 games. Fans in Ann Arbor knew he would soon have a successful professional career.
The Canadiens drafted him 22nd overall in 2007. He went straight to the pros the next season. This past season he scored a career-best 67 points in 80 games with Montreal.
A native of New Haven, Conn., Pacioretty becomes only the 3rd U.S.-born player to wear the C as a Hab -- the others are Chris Chelios, who co-captained the team with Guy Carbonneau, and most recently Brian Gionta.
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-- Pacioretty as a member of the University of Michigan hockey team. Photo by Scott A. Schneider/Getty Images