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Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty had a bit of a panic moment last February when his cell phone rang three days before the NHL trade deadline and he saw GM Marc Bergevin’s number.

“I remember getting a call from Berg and it was right around the trade deadline and I was freaking out. I was with my wife,” Pacioretty recalled after scoring three goals in the Canadiens’ 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres Tuesday night at the Bell Centre.

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Pacioretty took a deep breathe and answered the phone.

The GM wasn’t calling to tell Pacioretty he was traded. Instead, Bergevin wanted to tell Pacioretty about Phillip Danault, the player he had just acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann. The Canadiens also received a second-round pick at the 2018 NHL Draft.

“He’s like: ‘We just got this guy Danault and I’ve known him for a while,'” Pacioretty recalled Bergevin telling him.”