Ducks’ Max Comtois ready for ’embarrassing season’ to end
Max Comtois was hurt and couldn’t play effectively, then he underwent hand surgery and couldn’t play at all, then he got COVID-19 and couldn’t play again, then he got healthy but couldn’t play effectively again, then he couldn’t crack the Ducks’ lineup and then he just languished.
Now, he’s ready for the 2021-22 season to end.
“I just want to go home and be happy,” he said.
Comtois generated high expectations for this season with a team-leading 16 goals and 33 points in the pandemic-shortened, 56-game 2020-21 season. In hindsight, maybe they were a little too high, especially considering he has only five goals and 10 assists going into Friday’s finale.
“It’s just an embarrassing season for me,” Comtois said after Tuesday’s victory over San Jose. “It was hard. It was depressing. Right now, I just want to play good. I want to do my own thing and not be afraid to make plays out there. That’s just the mindset I have right now. I think it’s working.”
After going six consecutive games without a goal or an assist, Comtois has scored a goal in each of his past two games. He also had an assist in the Ducks’ 5-2 victory over the Sharks, playing a far more purposeful and productive overall game than in most of his games this season.
Above all, he found his way to the front of the opposition’s net during the past two games. Most of his 16 goals last season were scored within close range, but this season he got away from that hard-charging style of play. It could have had something to do with his hand injury.
But was there more to it? Was it as much mental as it was physical?
“We can talk about injuries,” he said during a short but candid postgame conversation. “We can talk about a lot of excuses. I think I just never got my feet under me. Part of it, yes, I didn’t play a whole lot. I think (Tuesday) was my 50th game (actually, it was his 51st).
“It took me a while to get started. I was in my head for a while. I didn’t really have fun. Coming to the rink was kind of a pain in the (rear). Right now, I’m just enjoying the last couple of games and trying to play good and build something for the summer. With the way I’m playing right now, it’s in the right direction.
“I just want to feel good about myself when I leave here and go into the summer. It’s going to be a big summer for me. Obviously, there’s another year on my contract and next year is going to be a contract year, so every time you play in those years, you want to play good coming into those seasons.
“For me, that’s how my focus is right now.”
Comtois, 23, bet on himself when he signed a two-year, $4.075-milion contract Aug. 9, hoping it would be a bridge deal to a longer and more lucrative payday down the road. It didn’t play out as planned, with hand surgery sidelining him for 16 games early in the season.
COVID-19 knocked him out for another two.
“For me, I want to play good and have momentum going into the summer for my workouts,” Comtois said. “I gave everything I got in the last little stretch and I’m happy with the way I’m playing right now. We’ve got one more (game to play). Just build some momentum for starting next year.”