In recognition of the occasion, we at Lions in Winter have been doing what we like best – making lists. As a precursor to publishing the definitive LIW top 100, we will be couting down the decades from least successful to most successful and naming our LIW top 10 players for the ten-year span. You should expect a few each day for the next few days.
1999-2009
Sorry young fans, but 1999-2009 has without much doubt the worst decade in the hisory of the Montreal Canadiens. Whether you want to look at Cups, standings, scoring or personal awards, things have been pretty thin on the ground for the Habs. Chalk it up to expanded competition, sure, but this organization has lofty standards and a middling playoff team is bottom of the barrel by most counts.
The decade has nonetheless had some very big and notable highs, and we have been lucky enough to watch some very good players grace the ice in Montreal since the turn of the Millennium. here are the LIW cream of the crop. If you don't do anything else, at least check the profile links out – the Habs have done an outstanding job with their history site.
10. Richard Zednik (Not ranked in top 100, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 2001-06 | 322 | 98 | 85 | 183 | +2 | 18 | |
| Decade best (Season) | 2003-04 | 81 | 26 | 24 | 50 | +5 | 9 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 2002-06 | 21 | 9 | 7 | 16 | +10 | 1 | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 2001-02 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | +7 | 1 |
A stretch of reliable goalscoring peppered with promising goals. 2001-02 playoffs were the high point.
9. Tomas Plekanec(Not ranked in top 100, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 2004-09 | 336 | 83 | 125 | 208 | +28 | 9 | |
| Decade best (Season) | 2007-08 | 81 | 29 | 40 | 69 | +15 | 6 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 2006-09 | 21 | 4 | 9 | 13 | -4 | 0 | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 2007-08 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 9 | -1 | 0 |
Growing into offensive role from solid defensive forward roots. This season gives him a boost.
8. Craig Rivet (Not ranked in top 100, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 1994-2007 | 653 | 39 | 112 | 151 | -1 | 5 | |
| Decade best (Season) | 2001-02 | 82 | 8 | 17 | 25 | +1 | 0 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1997-2006 | 39 | 1 | 10 | 11 | E | 0 | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 2003-04 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | +2 | 0 |
Stalwart on the Canadiens blueline. A generally reliable character on some shaky back ends.
7. Cristobal Huet (Not ranked in top 100, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | W | L | GAA | S% | SO | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 2005-08 | 117 | 58 | 39 | 2.53 | 0.920 | 11 | RC, AS |
| Decade best (Season) | 2005-06 | 36 | 18 | 15 | 2.20 | 0.929 | 7 | RC |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 2005-06 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 2.33 | 0.929 | 0 | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 2005-06 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 2.33 | 0.929 | 0 |
One of the best single seasons in Canadiens history and saving 92% of shots the rest of the time.
6. Sheldon Souray (Not ranked in top 100, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 1999-2007 | 324 | 62 | 98 | 160 | -44 | 11 | AS |
| Decade best (Season) | 2006-07 | 81 | 26 | 38 | 64 | -28 | 6 | AS |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 2002-06 | 29 | 3 | 5 | 8 | -7 | 0 | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 2005-06 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -1 | 0 |
Single-handedly revived the PP after years of toil. Never mind that he couldn't play his position very well – this is the 2000s...
5. Patrice Brisebois (Not ranked in top 100, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 1990-2009 | 896 | 87 | 284 | 371 | +5 | 18 | |
| Decade best (Season) | 2001-02 | 71 | 4 | 29 | 33 | +9 | 1 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1992-2009 | 89 | 9 | 22 | 31 | -8 | 3 | SC |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 2007-08 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -3 | 1 |
Tenure gets him consdieration. Despite some very rough seasons, his contribution over nearly 900 games was worthy of recognition.
4. Alexei Kovalev (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 2004-09 | 314 | 103 | 161 | 264 | -11 | 20 | AS |
| Decade best (Season) | 2007-08 | 82 | 35 | 49 | 84 | +18 | 5 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 2004-09 | 33 | 17 | 14 | 31 | +1 | 2 | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 2003-04 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 10 | +2 | 1 |
Thrilling skill and some thrilling gamechanging nights. The best offensive player of the decade by a good margin.
3. Andrei Markov (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 2000-09 | 572 | 74 | 255 | 329 | +18 | 11 | AS |
| Decade best (Season) | 2008-09 | 78 | 12 | 52 | 64 | -2 | 3 | AS |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 2002-09 | 41 | 3 | 11 | 14 | +3 | 2 | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 2003-04 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | +3 | 1 |
The core of the current team. His steady improvement over the years may have seen him reach the pinnacle here with a couple more years time.
2. Jose Theodore (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | W | L | GAA | S% | SO | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 1995-2006 | 353 | 141 | 158 | 2.62 | 0.911 | 23 | H, V, RC, AS |
| Decade best (Season) | 2001-02 | 67 | 30 | 24 | 2.11 | 0.931 | 7 | H, V, RC, AS |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1996-2004 | 28 | 11 | 15 | 2.54 | 0.921 | 1 | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 2003-04 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 2.39 | 0.919 | 1 |
Probably the best single stretch of goaltending I've ever seen and may ever see in 2002. Hart trophy, Vezina trophy – the main trophies won this decade by the Habs. Steady in other years (until the flop) with sold dave percentage and good shutout numbers.
1. Saku Koivu (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 1995-2009 | 792 | 191 | 450 | 641 | -10 | 35 | BM, KC, AS |
| Decade best (Season) | 2002-03 | 82 | 21 | 50 | 71 | +5 | 5 | AS |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1996-2009 | 54 | 16 | 32 | 48 | +11 | 1 | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 2003-04 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 11 | +1 | 0 |
Captain for the decade, as well as offensive engine throughout. Played better than his numbers seem to indicate, and his ability to ratchet it up in the playoffs will be missed.
* Awards: H = Hart trophy; V = Vezina trophy; RC = Roger Crozier trophy (save %); BM= Bill Masterton; KC = King Clancy; AS= All-star; SC = Stanley Cup.
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