2006–07 Montreal Canadiens season

NHL hockey team season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2006–07 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 98th season, 90th in the National Hockey League (NHL). The club finished fourth in the Northeast division and missed qualification for the playoffs by two points after losing the final game of the regular season 6–5 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Division4th Northeast
Conference10th Eastern
2006–07 record42–34–6
Home record26–12–3
Quick facts Montreal Canadiens, Division ...
2006–07 Montreal Canadiens
Division4th Northeast
Conference10th Eastern
2006–07 record42–34–6
Home record26–12–3
Road record16–22–3
Goals for245
Goals against256
Team information
General managerBob Gainey
Pierre Gauthier (interim)[a]
CoachGuy Carbonneau
CaptainSaku Koivu
Alternate captainsAlexei Kovalev (Feb.–Apr.)
Craig Rivet (Oct.–Feb.)
Sheldon Souray
ArenaBell Centre
Average attendance21,273 (100.0%)
Minor league affiliatesHamilton Bulldogs
Cincinnati Cyclones
Team leaders
GoalsMichael Ryder (30)
AssistsSaku Koivu (53)
PointsSaku Koivu (75)
Penalty minutesSheldon Souray (135)
Plus/minusAlexander Perezhogin (+11)
WinsCristobal Huet (19)
Goals against averageCristobal Huet (2.81)
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Pre-season

The Canadiens were only minimally active in offseason transactions, with forwards Sergei Samsonov and Mike Johnson and defenceman Janne Niinimaa representing the only additions. Forwards Jan Bulis, Richard Zednik and Mike Ribeiro moved to other teams: Bulis via free agency to Vancouver, Zednik via a trade to Washington and Ribeiro via a trade to Dallas (for Niinimaa).

Regular season

The club intended to build on a 2005–06 season in which it took the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes to six games in the first round of the playoffs. Behind the leadership of goaltender Cristobal Huet and captain Saku Koivu, the Canadiens poised themselves to join the elite of the Eastern Conference.

However, the team failed to keep its momentum for the whole season. Cristobal Huet's injury on February 15, 2007, forced the Canadiens to use backup goaltenders Jaroslav Halak and David Aebischer. Despite Halak's decent performance, the Canadiens could not clinch a playoff spot. They were eliminated on April 8 after a 6–5 loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the season's last game.

On January 9, 2007, the NHL announced that Sheldon Souray had been voted by the fans to start at defence in the 2007 All-Star Game in Dallas.[2]

The Canadiens finished the regular season with the NHL's best power-play percentage, at 22.75% (86 for 378), and tied the Ottawa Senators for most shorthanded goals scored, with 17.[3]

Standings

More information No., CR ...
Northeast Division
No. CR GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
11Buffalo Sabres8253227308242113
24Ottawa Senators8248259288222105
39Toronto Maple Leafs8240311125826991
410Montreal Canadiens824234624525690
513Boston Bruins823541621928976
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[4]

Note: No. = Division rank, CR = Conference rank, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

More information R, Div ...
Eastern Conference[5]
R Div GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 P - Buffalo SabresNE8253227308242113
2 Y - New Jersey DevilsAT8249249216201107
3 Y - Atlanta ThrashersSE8243281124624597
4 X - Ottawa SenatorsNE8248259288222105
5 X - Pittsburgh PenguinsAT82472411277246105
6 X - New York RangersAT8242301024221694
7 X - Tampa Bay LightningSE824433525326193
8 X - New York IslandersAT8240301224824092
8.5
9 Toronto Maple LeafsNE8240311125826991
10 Montreal CanadiensNE824234624525690
11 Carolina HurricanesSE824034824125388
12 Florida PanthersSE8235311624725786
13 Boston BruinsNE823541621928976
14 Washington CapitalsSE8228401423528670
15 Philadelphia FlyersAT8222481221430356
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Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast

P – Clinched Presidents Trophy; Y – Clinched division; X – Clinched playoff spot

Schedule and results

More information Game, Date ...
2006–07 regular season[6]
October: 6–2–3 (home: 3–1–2; road: 3–1–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
1October 6Montreal4–5BuffaloSOHuet18,6900–0–11OTL
2October 7Montreal3–2TorontoSOAebischer19,3531–0–13W
3October 11Montreal3–1PhiladelphiaAebischer19,2562–0–15W
4October 14Ottawa3–2MontrealSOHuet21,2732–0–26OTL
5October 17Calgary4–5MontrealHuet21,2733–0–28W
6October 18Montreal1–2ChicagoAebischer11,0953–1–28L
7October 21Colorado5–8MontrealAebischer21,2734–1–210W
8October 23Buffalo4–1MontrealHuet21,2734–2–210L
9October 26Montreal3–2BostonHuet13,9205–2–212W
10October 28Toronto5–4MontrealSOAebischer21,2735–2–313OTL
11October 31Ottawa2–4MontrealAebischer21,2736–2–315W
November: 8–5–0 (home: 4–2–0; road: 4–3–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
12November 2Montreal4–0CarolinaHuet6,4867–2–317W
13November 4New Jersey2–1MontrealHuet21,2717–3–317L
14November 7Edmonton2–3MontrealSOAebischer21,2738–3–319W
15November 11Montreal1–5TorontoAebischer19,5018–4–319L
16November 13Montreal6–3OttawaHuet20,0519–4–321W
17November 15Montreal3–1Tampa BayHuet19,92010–4–323W
18November 16Montreal1–5FloridaAebischer13,50610–5–323L
19November 18Atlanta1–3MontrealHuet21,27311–5–325W
20November 22Minnesota2–4MontrealHuet21,27312–5–327W
21November 24Montreal2–1BuffaloOTHuet18,69013–5–329W
22November 25Philadelphia4–2MontrealAebischer21,27313–6–329L
23November 28Florida0–1MontrealSOHuet21,27314–6–331W
24November 30Montreal2–4CarolinaHuet13,10314–7–331L
December: 8–4–2 (home: 5–1–1; road: 3–3–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
25December 2Toronto3–4MontrealSOHuet21,27315–7–333W
26December 4Boston6–5MontrealAebischer21,27315–8–333L
27December 6Montreal1–2New JerseyOTAebischer10,98615–8–434OTL
28December 7Montreal4–2NY IslandersHuet9,55116–8–436W
29December 9Buffalo3–2MontrealSOHuet21,27316–8–537OTL
30December 12Boston3–4MontrealAebischer21,27317–8–539W
31December 14Tampa Bay2–4MontrealHuet21,27318–8–541W
32December 16Pittsburgh3–6MontrealHuet21,27319–8–543W
33December 19Montreal5–2BuffaloHuet18,69020–8–545W
34December 21Philadelphia2–4MontrealAebischer21,27321–8–547W
35December 23Montreal2–4BostonHuet17,56521–9–547L
36December 27Montreal4–1WashingtonHuet15,60922–9–549W
37December 29Montreal1–3FloridaHuet19,77222–10–549L
38December 30Montreal1–3Tampa BayHuet21,12022–11–549L
January: 6–7–0 (home: 4–3–0; road: 2–4–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
39January 2Tampa Bay2–5MontrealHuet21,27323–11–551W
40January 4Montreal1–5WashingtonHuet11,28723–12–551L
41January 6NY Rangers4–3MontrealAebischer21,27323–13–551L
42January 7New Jersey3–0MontrealHuet21,27323–14–551L
43January 9Atlanta2–4MontrealHuet21,27324–14–553W
44January 11Montreal4–2PhiladelphiaAebischer19,41125–14–555W
45January 13Montreal3–8OttawaHuet20,03825–15–555L
46January 15Montreal0–2DetroitAebischer20,06625–16–555L
47January 16Vancouver4–0MontrealHuet21,27325–17–555L
48January 18Montreal4–1AtlantaHuet14,02526–17–557W
49January 20Buffalo3–4MontrealHuet21,27327–17–559W
50January 27Montreal1–4TorontoHuet19,50827–18–559L
51January 29Ottawa1–3MontrealAebischer21,27328–18–561W
February: 5–9–1 (home: 3–5–0; road: 2–4–1)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
52February 1Montreal4–5PittsburghSOAebischer17,13228–18–662OTL
53February 3NY Islanders4–2MontrealHuet21,27328–19–662L
54February 4Pittsburgh3–4MontrealOTAebischer21,27329–19–664W
55February 6Carolina2–1MontrealAebischer21,27329–20–664L
56February 8Montreal1–4OttawaHuet19,91529–21–664L
57February 10Ottawa5–3MontrealAebischer21,27329–22–664L
58February 13Florida1–0MontrealHuet21,27329–23–664L
59February 14Montreal2–5New JerseyHuet7,51529–24–664L
60February 17Carolina5–3MontrealAebischer21,27329–25–664L
61February 18Montreal3–2ColumbusHalak16,11630–25–666W
62February 20Washington3–5MontrealHalak21,27331–25–668W
63February 22Montreal6–5NashvilleSOHalak15,80832–25–670W
64February 24Montreal2–3NY IslandersHalak16,23432–26–670L
65February 26Toronto5–4MontrealAebischer21,27333–26–672W
66February 27Montreal0–4NY RangersHalak18,20033–27–672L
March: 8–5–0 (home: 6–0–0; road: 2–5–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
67March 2Montreal5–8BuffaloAebischer18,69033–28–672L
68March 3Montreal1–3BostonHalak17,56533–29–672L
69March 8Montreal2–6AtlantaHalak14,52833–30–672L
70March 10Montreal4–3St. LouisAebischer19,42134–30–674W
71March 13NY Islanders3–5MontrealAebischer21,27335–30–676W
72March 16Montreal3–6PittsburghAebischer17,13235–31–676L
73March 17Toronto2–3MontrealSOHalak21,27336–31–678W
74March 20Boston0–1MontrealHalak21,27337–31–680W
75March 22Montreal6–3BostonHalak17,02638–31–682W
76March 24Washington1–4MontrealHalak21,27339–31–684W
77March 27Rangers4–6MontrealHalak21,27340–31–686W
78March 30Montreal2–5OttawaHalak20,18540–32–686L
79March 31Buffalo3–4MontrealHalak21,27341–32–688W
April: 1–2–0 (home: 1–0–0; road: 0–2–0)
GameDateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
80April 3Boston0–2MontrealHalak21,27342–32–690W
81April 5Montreal1–3NY RangersHalak18,20042–33–690L
82April 7Montreal5–6TorontoHuet19,72342–34–690L

Legend: W Win (2 points) L Loss (0 points) OTL Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

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Player statistics

Scoring

  • Position abbreviations: C = Centre; D = Defence; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
  • = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only.
  • = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only.
More information No., Player ...
No. Player Pos Regular season
GP G A Pts +/- PIM
11Saku KoivuC81225375−2174
44Sheldon SourayD81263864−28135
73Michael RyderRW82302858−2560
79Andrei MarkovD7764349256
35Tomas PlekanecLW812027471036
27Alexei KovalevRW73182947−1978
21Chris HigginsC61221638−1126
32Mark StreitD76102636−514
20Mike JohnsonRW80112031640
84Guillaume LatendresseRW80161329−2047
15Sergei SamsonovLW6391726−410
14Radek BonkC74131023054
8Mike KomisarekD8241519796
52Craig RivetD5461016−757
42Alexander PerezhoginLW6169151148
51Francis BouillonD6231114−1052
40Maxim LapierreC466612−724
46Andrei KostitsynW221101136
22Steve BeginC525510−646
25Mathieu DandenaultD68268−840
57Garth MurrayC43213−1032
6Janne NiinimaaD41033−1336
47Aaron DowneyRW21101−648
41Jaroslav HalakG160112
39Cristobal HuetG420110
62Duncan MilroyRW5011−20
30David AebischerG320002
26Josh GorgesD7000−10
59Mikhail GrabovskiC3000−20
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Goaltending

More information No., Player ...
No. Player Regular season
GP W L OT SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI
39Cristobal Huet421916312801072.81.91622286
30David Aebischer3213123929933.17.90001760
41Jaroslav Halak161060469442.89.9062912
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Awards and records

Awards

More information Type, Award/honour ...
Type Award/honour Recipient Ref
League
(annual)
King Clancy Memorial Trophy Saku Koivu [7]
League
(in-season)
NHL All-Star Game selection Cristobal Huet [8]
Sheldon Souray[b]
NHL Third Star of the Month Cristobal Huet (November) [10]
NHL Third Star of the Week Sheldon Souray (October 22) [11]
Jaroslav Halak (March 25)
Team Jacques Beauchamp Molson Trophy Mark Streit [12]
Molson Cup Cristobal Huet [13]
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Milestones

More information Milestone, Player ...
Milestone Player Date Ref
First game Guillaume Latendresse October 6, 2006 [14]
Mikhail Grabovski January 6, 2007
Duncan Milroy February 17, 2007
Jaroslav Halak February 18, 2007
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Transactions

The Canadiens were involved in the following transactions from June 20, 2006, the day after the deciding game of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 6, 2007, the day of the deciding game of the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals.[15]

Trades

More information Date, Details ...
Date Details Ref
June 24, 2006 (2006-06-24) To San Jose Sharks
  • 1st-round pick in 2006
To Montreal Canadiens
  • 1st-round pick in 2006
  • 2nd-round pick in 2006
[16]
To Philadelphia Flyers
  • 3rd-round pick in 2006
  • 4th-round pick in 2006
To Montreal Canadiens
  • Chicago's 3rd-round pick in 2006
[17]
July 12, 2006 (2006-07-12) To Washington Capitals
To Montreal Canadiens
  • 3rd-round pick in 2007
[18]
To Phoenix Coyotes
  • 4th-round pick in 2007
To Montreal Canadiens
[18]
September 30, 2006 (2006-09-30) To Dallas Stars
To Montreal Canadiens
[19]
December 15, 2006 (2006-12-15) To San Jose Sharks
To Montreal Canadiens
[20]
February 25, 2007 (2007-02-25) To San Jose Sharks
To Montreal Canadiens
[21]
May 31, 2007 (2007-05-31) To New York Rangers
  • 7th-round pick in 2007
To Montreal Canadiens
[22]
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Players acquired

More information Date, Player ...
DatePlayerFormer teamTermViaRef
July 12, 2006 (2006-07-12) Sergei SamsonovEdmonton Oilers2-yearFree agency[18]
July 13, 2006 (2006-07-13) Dan JancevskiDallas Stars1-yearFree agency[23]
September 28, 2006 (2006-09-28) Patrick TraverseSan Jose SharksWaivers[24]
February 27, 2007 (2007-02-27) Michael LeightonPhiladelphia FlyersWaivers[25]
May 31, 2007 (2007-05-31) Janne LahtiHPK (Liiga)1-yearFree agency[22]
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Players lost

More information Date, Player ...
DatePlayerNew teamVia[c]Ref
July 13, 2006 (2006-07-13) Raitis IvanansLos Angeles KingsFree agency (UFA)[27]
July 21, 2006 (2006-07-21) Pete VandermeerWashington CapitalsFree agency (III)[28]
July 24, 2006 (2006-07-24) Jan BulisVancouver CanucksFree agency (III)[29]
September 7, 2006 (2006-09-07) Olivier MichaudSaint–Jean Chiefs (LNAH)Free agency (UFA)[30]
September 19, 2006 (2006-09-19) Todd SimpsonHannover Scorpions (DEL)Free agency (III)[31]
October 17, 2006 (2006-10-17) Pierre DagenaisJokerit (Liiga)Free agency (UFA)[32]
October 18, 2006 (2006-10-18) Jeff PaulTilburg Trappers (NED)Free agency (VI)[33]
October 26, 2006 (2006-10-26) Johnathan AitkenEC KAC (EBEL)Free agency (UFA)[34]
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Signings

More information Date, Player ...
DatePlayerTermContract typeRef
June 25, 2006 (2006-06-25) Cristobal Huet2-yearRe-signing[35]
June 29, 2006 (2006-06-29) Jonathan Ferland1-yearRe-signing[36]
July 1, 2006 (2006-07-01) Francis Bouillon3-yearRe-signing[37]
July 6, 2006 (2006-07-06) Jean-Philippe Cote1-yearRe-signing[38]
Mike Ribeiro1-yearRe-signing[38]
July 10, 2006 (2006-07-10) Mathieu Aubin3-yearEntry-level[39]
Matt D'Agostini3-yearEntry-level[39]
Mikhail Grabovski2-yearEntry-level[39]
Chris Higgins1-yearRe-signing[39]
Mike Komisarek1-yearRe-signing[39]
July 12, 2006 (2006-07-12) David Aebischer1-yearRe-signing[18]
July 13, 2006 (2006-07-13) Andrew Archer1-yearRe-signing[23]
Yann Danis1-yearRe-signing[23]
Duncan Milroy1-yearRe-signing[23]
July 17, 2006 (2006-07-17) Alexander Perezhogin1-yearRe-signing[40]
July 23, 2006 (2006-07-23) Michael Ryder1-yearRe-signing[41]
August 9, 2006 (2006-08-09) Ryan O'Byrne2-yearEntry-level[42]
September 29, 2006 (2006-09-29) Guillaume Latendresse3-yearEntry-level[43]
May 8, 2007 (2007-05-08) Mathieu Carle3-yearEntry-level[44]
May 26, 2007 (2007-05-26) Sergei Kostitsyn3-yearEntry-level[45]
May 28, 2007 (2007-05-28) Andrei Markov4-yearExtension[46]
May 31, 2007 (2007-05-31) Ryan Russell3-yearEntry-level[22]
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Draft picks

Montreal's picks at the 2006 NHL entry draft in Vancouver, British Columbia.[47] The Canadiens had the 16th overall draft pick, which they traded to the San Jose Sharks for the 20th and 53rd overall picks.

See also

Notes

  1. Gauthier served as interim general manager from December 10 to January 1 while Gainey took a leave of absence following the death of his daughter.[1]
  2. Souray was voted to the starting lineup.[9]
  3. In parentheses is the player's free agency group on July 1 if applicable.[26]

References

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