My immediate instinct was that this would not work at all.



Ultimately, that proved how little I actually knew.



Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty graciously agreed to sit down for an interview with The Athletic last week and suggested we do it at Just Pressed, a downtown juice bar. But when I arrived, I noticed the place only had three seats, and they were all directly facing a window looking out onto the sidewalk of De Maisonneuve Blvd.



There was no way I could sit at these seats and interview the captain of the Canadiens in peace, I thought to myself.



When Pacioretty arrived a few minutes later, I explained the situation and he saw no problem with it. He waited in line for his smoothie, got a polite hello from a customer in front of him, and that was the last time anyone bothered him, or us, for more than an hour as we chatted.



People walking by on the sidewalk would do a double take when they saw Pacioretty, but no one came in to say hi, no...