MONTREAL CANADIENS QUARTER-CENTURY TEAMS
First team
Attackers
Saku Koivu
Alex Kovalev
Tomas Plekanec
Defenders
Andrei Markov
Shea Weber
Guardian
-Carey Price
Attackers: Player who captained the Canadiens for the longest period (1999-2009) after the legendary Jean Béliveau (1961-1971), Koivu is still appreciated today in Montreal for his class, his leadership and the inspiring battle he delivered to beat cancer. The Canadiens’ first-round pick (21st) in the 1993 draft scored 428 points (123 goals, 295 assists) between 2000 and 2009 with the Habs, and 641 points (191 goals, 450 assists) in all of his 13 seasons in Montreal before concluding his career with the Anaheim Ducks (2009-2014). Kovalev played 314 of his 1,316 NHL games with the Canadiens after being acquired in a trade with the New York Rangers on March 2, 2004. “The Artist” electrified fans in Montreal with his creativity and spectacular feints , collecting 264 points, including 103, in the blue-white-red uniform. Plekanec was a third-round pick (71st overall) of the Canadiens in the 2001 draft and played 984 of his 1,001 games with Montreal (the other 17 with the Toronto Maple Leafs). The Czech, who was a very effective center player and an excellent defensive attacker, amassed 606 points (233 goals, 373 assists) with CH.
Defenders: Markov was a mainstay on the blue line and a power play quarterback for 990 games in Montreal, where he spent his entire 16-season career and where he made each of his defensive partners better. A sixth-round pick (162nd overall) in the 1998 draft, Markov came roaring back from each of two surgeries for torn anterior cruciate knee ligaments to lead all franchise defensemen after Jan. 1 2000 with 572 points (119 goals, 453 assists). He stood out for his quiet leadership and vision that allowed him to find passing lines that seemed nonexistent. Weber arrived in Montreal in the famous June 29, 2016 trade that sent PK Subban to the Nashville Predators. Weber only played 275 of his 1,038 games with the Canadiens, but the recent Hall of Fame inductee captained the team from 2018 until its final game in 2021, leading the CH with his presence, his lightning shooting and his courage to block shots.
Guardian : Price, fifth overall pick in the 2005 draft, holds CH records that are likely to stand for a long time: 361 regular season victories, 712 games played and 700 starts, 19,304 saves and 21,059 shots received. His 49 shutouts give him third place behind George Hainsworth (75) and Jacques Plante (58). Price was the franchise’s number one goaltender for nearly 15 seasons, becoming the first, in 2014-15, to win the Hart Trophy (most valuable player to his team), the Vezina Trophy (best goaltender in the NHL) , the Ted Lindsay Trophy (best player as voted by members of the Players’ Association) and the William M. Jennings Trophy (fewest goals allowed during the season) in the same year.
