Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty confirmed Thursday he will not negotiate a contract extension - with the Canadiens or any other team - once the 2018-19 regular season begins.

Pacioretty told reporters at Jonathan Drouin’s golf tournament that it would be too much of a distraction and unfair to his teammates. "I understand there will be distractions, but I want to limit them as much as possible," he explained. "I don't want to talk about contract negotiations every day. It'll be easier to think only about hockey every day."

The 29-year-old confirmed last month there have been no negotiations with the Canadiens on a contract extension, while his agent, Allan Walsh, has repeatedly stated the winger would like to re-sign with the team.

When asked on Thursday if he expects to start the season with the Canadiens, Pacioretty responded, “I don’t know.”

"I'm not sad, but I'm a little surprised," he added. "It's part of hockey. I have to work this summer and let my agent take care of the business part."

Pacioretty on if he expects to start the season in Montreal: “I don’t know...” and he essentially confirmed the report that suggested he won’t be negotiating during the season #TSN690 — Joey Alfieri (@joeyalfieri) September 6, 2018

Walsh confirmed last week that the Canadiens had a deal in place in June to send their captain to Los Angeles, but it fell through when his client couldn't reach an extension with the Kings.

"Max Pacioretty has stated repeatedly that he loves Montreal and wants to remain in Montreal," Walsh wrote on Twitter last week. "To this date, he’s never received any offer from Montreal. You can have three sources or 10 sources, how many times does Max have to state that he wants to remain in Montreal long term?

"Obvious these “sources” are coming from the club. Max will always take the high road and repeats again, he is ready to sign an extension with Montreal TODAY. It was Montreal that traded Max to LA at the draft and it was a DONE DEAL subject to Max signing an extension with LA."

Pacioretty had 17 goals and 37 points in 64 games last season, his lowest totals since breaking into the NHL as a full-time player in 2011-12.

He is entering the final season of his current contract with a cap hit of $4.5 million this season.