With a long Olympic break in the NHL schedule, it seemed like a good time to put together a list of the top 25 Canadiens players since 2000.
There have been more lows than highs since then, with the Canadiens missing the playoffs 10 times. They advanced to the conference final twice (in 2009-10 and 2013-14) and the Stanley Cup final once (2021).
More than 300 players (331 to be exact) and 28 goalies have worn a Canadiens sweater since the start of the 2000-01 season. Twenty-five of them have stood out. In picking the top 25, we’ve factored in personal statistics and awards, impact on the team and fans, and longevity.
In the third instalment of this five-part feature series, we look at players ranked Nos. 11-15.
No. 11 — Shea Weber
Weber saw his very happy world in Nashville pulled out from under him when Predators GM David Poile traded him to the Canadiens on June 29, 2016, in exchange for P.K. Subban.
The trade came a week after Weber had won the NHL’s Mark Messier Leadership Award as captain of the Predators. Poile traded Weber’s contract more than the player and called it one of the “toughest days I ever had.”
Weber was about to turn 31 when he was traded and was heading into the fifth season of a ridiculous 14-year, US$110-million contract with an annual salary-cap hit of US$7.86 million after the Predators decided to match an offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers in summer 2012 in order to keep him.
Marc Bergevin, the Canadiens GM at the time, jumped at the opportunity to acquire Weber and get rid of Subban and his flamboyant personality, which he and head coach Michel Therrien didn’t like. Weber’s personality was the total opposite of Subban’s and he never liked the bright spotlight of playing in Montreal when it came to fans and media.
But during his five seasons with the Canadiens, Weber brought the leadership Bergevin was looking for in the locker room and on the ice. His young teammates called him Dad, and Weber replaced Max Pacioretty as captain after the latter was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights ahead of the 2018-19 season in a deal that brought Tomas Tatar and current captain Nick Suzuki to Montreal.
Weber showed remarkable courage and leadership while helping guide the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup final in 2021 before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Weber played in the playoffs with a torn UCL in his thumb, a torn ankle tendon, a meniscus injury in his knee, and then tore his groin in the semifinal series against the Vegas Golden Knights. Weber played in all 22 playoff games and averaged 25:13 of ice time.
Because of those injuries, Weber never played again after the 2021 Stanley Cup final, but his contract lives on.
Canadiens GM Kent Hughes was able to trade what was left of Weber’s contract to the Golden Knights in summer 2022. Since then, Weber’s contract has been traded to the Arizona Coyotes (now the Utah Mammoth) and the Chicago Blackhawks. This is the final season of the contract for the 40-year-old Weber, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame last year. He is only earning US$1 million this season on the heavily front-loaded contract, but can still count as US$7.86 million on the Blackhawks’ salary cap.
No. 12 — Alex Kovalev
You can make a good argument that Kovalev is the most talented player the Canadiens have had since 2000, which is what made him very frustrating to watch at times.
Kovalev had two nicknames during his five seasons with the Canadiens: The Artist and The Enigma. He also had a reputation for being a coach killer.
Guy Carbonneau was Kovalev’s head coach for three seasons with the Canadiens and said he had a good relationship with the Russian forward. But Carbonneau added: “He was just not an easy athlete to coach, period.”
When Kovalev wanted to play, he could dominate a game with his skills. His best season with the Canadiens was 2007-08, when he had 35-49-84 totals. No Canadiens player reached the 80-point mark again until last season, when Suzuki had 30-59-89 totals. In 314 regular-season games with Montreal, Kovalev had 103-161-264 totals to rank ninth in points among Canadiens since 2000-01.
One of the highlights of Kovalev’s time in Montreal came on March 25, 2006, in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre. During the third period of a 6-2 Canadiens victory, Darcy Tucker tried to cheap-shot Kovalev. The 6-foot-2, 222-pound Russian exploded with raw emotion and showed what a physical presence he could be, flattening Tucker with an elbow and getting into a fight.
The fans went wild.
No. 13 — José Theodore
In 2002, Theodore became the first Canadien to win the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player since Guy Lafleur in 1978.
Theodore also won the Vézina Trophy for the 2001-02 season as the NHL’s best goalie after posting a 30-24-10 record with a 2.11 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage. He was the first Canadiens goalie to win the Vézina since Patrick Roy in 1992.
During nine seasons with the Canadiens, Theodore posted a 141-158-35 record with a 2.62 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage. Carey Price’s goals-against average during his 15 seasons with the Canadiens (2.51) and save percentage (.917) were only slightly better than Theodore’s.
On Jan. 2, 2001, Theodore became the first Canadiens goalie — and the sixth in NHL history — to score a goal in a regular-season game. He also had 32 saves in a 3-0 win over the Islanders in New York.
Another memorable moment from Theodore’s time with Montreal came at the Heritage Classic on Nov. 22, 2003, when he wore a Canadiens tuque on top of his mask during a 4-3 win over the Oilers at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium with the temperature dropping to minus-28C.
Those tuques became big sellers as Christmas gifts that year.
No. 14 — Patrice Brisebois
The defenceman spent 16 seasons with the Canadiens, starting in 1990-91. His 371 career points with the Canadiens rank sixth all-time among defencemen, trailing Larry Robinson (883), Guy Lapointe and Andrei Markov (tied with 572), Doug Harvey (447) and Serge Savard (412). During his last six seasons with the Canadiens — which were sandwiched around two years with the Colorado Avalanche (2005-07) — Brisebois had 158 points. Only four defencemen since 2000-01 have had more points: Markov (572), Subban (278), and Jeff Petry (248).
Unfortunately, the offensive-minded Brisebois was a whipping boy at times with Canadiens fans.
Fans at the Bell Centre booed Brisebois on several occasions during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres on Sept. 27, 2003, which the Canadiens won 3-1, with Brisebois scoring a power-play goal in the third period.
GM Bob Gainey had enough of the booing.
“That’s bulls–t,” Gainey said after the game. “We don’t need those people. We don’t want those people. They’re jealous people, yellow people. I think they’re a bunch of gutless bastards, to be honest. … Our message to them is to stay away, we don’t need you.”
Brisebois was thankful to hear Gainey supporting him.
“I appreciate his support,” Brisebois said at the time. “I’ve always said there are people who like me and appreciate me. I play for them and my friends and family.”
Last October, Brisebois was named president of the Canadiens’ Alumni Association, taking over from Réjean Houle, who decided to step down at age 75 after spending 27 years in that position.
No. 15 — Jaroslav Halak
The goaltender is the biggest reason why the Canadiens advanced to the Eastern Conference final in 2010 before losing to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Halak posted a 2.55 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage during 18 playoff games that year, including 53 saves in a 4-1 win over the Washington Capitals in Game 6 of the first round.
Stop signs with “HALAK” written on them instead of “ARRÊT” started popping up around Montreal.
During four seasons with the Canadiens after being selected in the ninth round (271st overall) of the 2003 NHL Draft, Halak had a 56-34-7 record with a 2.62 GAA and a .919 save percentage. He was even better in the playoffs with a 2.48 GAA and a .923 save percentage in 21 games.
Halak’s play was creating a goaltending controversy with Price, the No. 5 overall pick at the 2005 NHL Draft. GM Pierre Gauthier decided to end that controversy by trading Halak to the St. Louis Blues on June 17, 2010, in exchange for Lars Eller and Ian Schultz.
No. 16: Mike Cammalleri
No. 17: Brian Gionta
No. 18: Phillip Danault
No. 19: Michael Ryder
No. 20: Richard Zednik
No. 21: Jeff Petry
No. 22: Mike Matheson
No. 23: Juraj Slafkovsky
No. 24: Ivan Demidov
No. 25: David Desharnais
Tomorrow: Nos. 6-10
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