Former NHL captain's viral ejection reveals a retired athlete's truth

At the CCM Chicago Showcase last Friday, the former Montreal Canadiens captain was behind the bench coaching his son James Carter's team at the Nicholas Sportsplex in Mt. Prospect, Illinois.

When James Carter was assessed a penalty, Pacioretty argued with the referee and was ejected.

That part was predictable for anyone who watched him play. The exit was less predictable.

The nearest door wouldn't open, forcing Pacioretty to walk the entire length of the ice to find a way out.

Video from Dans les Coulisses spread across social media quickly, and the hockey internet did not need long to name it: the walk of shame.

Most coverage landed on the humor, and fair enough. But the competitive instinct that got Pacioretty ejected is the same one that produced 30-goal seasons in Montreal, drove him back from a fractured cervical vertebra in 2011, and kept him in the league long after most players with his injury history were finished.

Competitive fury was never a side effect of his career. It was the engine.

Pacioretty now works in NCAA hockey in Michigan and also coaches his son Enzo in the Red Wings Junior program.

The ejection is evidence of how hard that wiring is to unplug, not proof he has regressed.

There is a quieter angle here. Youth hockey officials at tournaments like the CCM Chicago Showcase are often young adults doing a genuinely difficult job for minimal pay.

A former NHL captain contesting a minor call in their face raises the temperature in the building and signals to every parent watching that the behavior is acceptable.

Pacioretty will likely reflect on that.

The walk across the ice was long enough.