Canadiens' Pacioretty: 'I did not ask for a trade'

Rumors swirled all week about the Montreal Canadiens potentially trading their captain Max Pacioretty, but a one-way ticket out of the hockey hotbed was not something he wanted.

"I did not ask for a trade," Pacioretty said, according to Sportsnet's Eric Engels. "I still have 20 games to worry about finding my game and you know what, I’m not on social media and I don’t have all this stuff.

"But even just having the TV on today I hope you guys can realize I'm a human being with three kids, and there's been a lot of stuff … whether it be … I don't want to go into details… but there's been a lot of stuff and some of it has been hard to swallow and I care because I care so much about playing here."

Both the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks were reportedly interested in the services of Pacioretty, but a deal never came to fruition.

The 29-year-old is having a down year by his standards, with 17 goals and 37 points in 61 games. He is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after next season.