Montreal Canadiens Point Totals

2000-2001- 28-40-8-6 for a total of 70 points. Finished 10th, missed the playoffs by 19 pts.

2001-2002- 36-31-12-3 for a total of 87 points. Finished in 8th spot, made it to semi-finals

2002-2003- 30-35-8-9 for a total of 77 points. Finished 9th, missed the playoffs by 7 points

2003-2004- 41-30-7-4 for a total of 93 points. Finished 7th made it to Semi Finals.

2005-2006- 42-31-9 for a total of 93 points. Again, we finished in 7th ( Ahead of the defending Stanely Cup Champs ) and only this time fell short against the stanely cup champs.

Quote from a leaf site in 2003-2004 season 

The NHL trade deadline is March 11th. When the Rangers pulled off a big trade with Pittsburg yesterday, we officially lost the Kovalev sweepstakes. When was the last time we actual won such a bidding war? We lost Holik, Kasparitis, Guerin, Amonte, Cujo, Lindros, Blake, etc... The Toronto Sun has published a list of players they claim may be available. Owen Nolan and Jerome Iginla shine through as the best of the bunch. You can bet your bottom dollar we won't be seeing either in blue and white. C'mon Quinn, it's time to sh*t or get off the pot!!!!! We want and deserve the cup in the big T.O.

Guess who has Kovalev now!!! :D AAANNND....look who went to toronto and ALL died!

The Team then...

At season's end: Finished fifth the Northeast Division, 11th in the Eastern Conference.

 
"Our goal is to be in a position where we can talk about going deep into the playoffs IN THREE YEARS ."
-- Owner George Gillett  



 

Let us for a second point out that nothing in this space or the upcoming hockey season, least of all the on-ice success of Les Habitantes, is as important as off-ice success of Saku Koivu in his fight against cancer. At the same time his Montreal teammates return to hockey in earnest, their captain begins the chillingly serious matter of chemotherapy.

Certainly Koivu, who has played only 78 games over the past two seasons but averaged .78 points per game in his career, will be missed. In truth, though, NHL hockey, a profession little removed in theory or practice from harmless childhood interests in staking and shooting, should be considered trivial.

This holds true even in hockey-mad Montreal, where a new owner from (mon dieu!) the United States had given the club enough financial freedom to court a number of free-agent forwards born in the province of Quebec, most of whom signed with teams in the Lower 48 right around Canada Day. GM Andre Savard would eventually add Joe Juneau (Pont-Rouge) and one of the league's best faceoff men in Yannic Perreault (Sherbrooke) to what is, on paper, a talented -- and terribly fragile -- group of forwards.

Koivu had been a face of that fragility in seasons past, and yet now he becomes the poster boy for perspective. While he braces for exhausting, often frightening and unspeakably honest discussions with doctors, loved ones and himself, the NHL will roll on for its players, executives, concessionaires, journalists and fans.

Each and every one of them touched by cancer.

For more on the Canadiens, please check back to our NHL Preview section on Wednesday, Oct. 3 for a Sports Illustrated Scouting Report.

 
 
BRIGHT SPOTS
 
GRAY AREAS
 
 

 
 

Prospect Watch
 
 

Marcel Hossa, C, 6' 2", 211
Born: Oct. 12, 1979 in Stara Lubovna, Slovakia
Acquired: No. 16 overall pick in 2000 Entry Draft

Like his brother, Marian, Marcel's junior hockey experience comes by way of the Portland Winter Hawks. And while they are built similarly, their WHL results have been different versions of what might be two success stories. Marian played only 53 regular season games (40 goals, 45 points) before splashing into the NHL. Marcel completed three junior seasons, a span over which his point totals increased from 21 as a rookie, to 53 in 1999-2000, to 90 (34 goals, 56 assists) last season. With Koivu out, the Canadiens will hope the younger Hossa, at 20, can have the same impact as his brother did at 19.

Among the many numbers that defined Montreal's 1999-2000 season -- 194 goals allowed, 35 wins, 83 points, zero players to reach 50 points -- one figure overwhelms: 536. The Canadiens set an unofficial record (only because it's an unofficial statistic) with 563 man games lost to injury. Marginal players, role players, star players … none were immune.

At times the team was without nine regulars. Here are some members of the 4077th; form a single-file line, boys: Forwards Saku Koivu (shoulder surgery), Shayne Corson (colitus), Benoit Brunet (back), Brian Savage (fractured vertebrae and ligament damage in his spinal column), Trevor Linden (sprained ankle), and defensemen Vladimir Malakhov (torn knee ligaments), Patrice Brisebois (back surgery) and Igor Ulanov (fractured foot). All of this before Christmas, too.

Somehow in the midst of those absences, Alain Vigneault pieced together a lineup that could get hot: 6-2-3 in January and a 12-3-0 stretch into mid-February. But in the end, of course, five wins in their final 14 games was not good enough.

For more on the Canadiens, bookmark this page and check back Wednesday, Oct. 11 for a Sports Illustrated Scouting Report.

BRIGHT SPOTS
 
GRAY AREAS

Wow, how things have changed