2019–20 Montreal Canadiens season
NHL hockey team season
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The 2019–20 Montreal Canadiens season was the 111th season for the franchise that was established on December 4, 1909, and their 103rd season as a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL).
| 2019–20 Montreal Canadiens | |
|---|---|
| Division | 5th Atlantic |
| Conference | 12th Eastern |
| 2019–20 record | 31–31–9 |
| Home record | 14–17–6 |
| Road record | 17–14–3 |
| Goals for | 212 |
| Goals against | 221 |
| Team information | |
| General manager | Marc Bergevin |
| Coach | Claude Julien Kirk Muller (interim, Aug. 13 – Aug. 21)[1] |
| Captain | Shea Weber |
| Alternate captains | Paul Byron Brendan Gallagher |
| Arena | Bell Centre |
| Average attendance | 21,085[2] |
| Minor league affiliate | Laval Rocket (AHL) |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Brendan Gallagher Tomas Tatar (22) |
| Assists | Tomas Tatar (39) |
| Points | Tomas Tatar (61) |
| Penalty minutes | Ben Chiarot (61) |
| Plus/minus | Phillip Danault (+18) |
| Wins | Carey Price (27) |
| Goals against average | Cayden Primeau (2.52) |
As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the season was suspended by league officials on March 12, 2020, after several other professional and collegiate sports organizations likewise followed suit.[3][4] On May 26, the NHL regular season was officially declared over with all remaining games being cancelled.[5] The Canadiens would advance to the playoffs for the first time since the 2016–17 season, defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins in the qualifying round, but were eliminated by the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round in six games.[6]
Standings
Divisional standings
| Pos | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | p – Boston Bruins | 70 | 44 | 14 | 12 | 38 | 227 | 174 | +53 | 100 |
| 2 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 70 | 43 | 21 | 6 | 35 | 245 | 195 | +50 | 92 |
| 3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 36 | 25 | 9 | 28 | 238 | 227 | +11 | 81 |
| 4 | Florida Panthers | 69 | 35 | 26 | 8 | 30 | 231 | 228 | +3 | 78 |
| 5 | Montreal Canadiens | 71 | 31 | 31 | 9 | 19 | 212 | 221 | −9 | 71 |
| 6 | Buffalo Sabres | 69 | 30 | 31 | 8 | 22 | 195 | 217 | −22 | 68 |
| 7 | Ottawa Senators | 71 | 25 | 34 | 12 | 18 | 191 | 243 | −52 | 62 |
| 8 | Detroit Red Wings | 71 | 17 | 49 | 5 | 13 | 145 | 267 | −122 | 39 |
Eastern Conference
| Pos | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | PCT | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Bruins | 70 | 44 | 14 | 12 | 38 | 227 | 174 | +53 | .714 | Advance to Seeding round-robin tournament[8] |
| 2 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 70 | 43 | 21 | 6 | 35 | 245 | 195 | +50 | .657 | |
| 3 | Washington Capitals | 69 | 41 | 20 | 8 | 31 | 240 | 215 | +25 | .652 | |
| 4 | Philadelphia Flyers | 69 | 41 | 21 | 7 | 31 | 232 | 196 | +36 | .645 | |
| 5 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 69 | 40 | 23 | 6 | 29 | 224 | 196 | +28 | .623 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round[8] |
| 6 | Carolina Hurricanes | 68 | 38 | 25 | 5 | 27 | 222 | 193 | +29 | .596 | |
| 7 | New York Islanders | 68 | 35 | 23 | 10 | 24 | 192 | 193 | −1 | .588 | |
| 8 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 36 | 25 | 9 | 28 | 238 | 227 | +11 | .579 | |
| 9 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 70 | 33 | 22 | 15 | 25 | 180 | 187 | −7 | .579 | |
| 10 | Florida Panthers | 69 | 35 | 26 | 8 | 30 | 231 | 228 | +3 | .565 | |
| 11 | New York Rangers | 70 | 37 | 28 | 5 | 31 | 234 | 222 | +12 | .564 | |
| 12 | Montreal Canadiens | 71 | 31 | 31 | 9 | 19 | 212 | 221 | −9 | .500 | |
| 13 | Buffalo Sabres | 69 | 30 | 31 | 8 | 22 | 195 | 217 | −22 | .493 | |
| 14 | New Jersey Devils | 69 | 28 | 29 | 12 | 22 | 189 | 230 | −41 | .493 | |
| 15 | Ottawa Senators | 71 | 25 | 34 | 12 | 18 | 191 | 243 | −52 | .437 | |
| 16 | Detroit Red Wings | 71 | 17 | 49 | 5 | 13 | 145 | 267 | −122 | .275 |
Source: National Hockey League[9]
Schedule and results
Preseason
The preseason schedule was published on June 18, 2019.[10]
| 2019 preseason game log: 5–2–0 (Home: 4–1–0; Road: 1–1–0) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | OT | Decision | Attendance | Record | Recap |
| 1 | September 16 | New Jersey | 2–4 | Montreal | Primeau | 19,080 | 1–0–0 | [11] | |
| 2 | September 18[a] | Florida | 3–4 | Montreal | Lindgren | 3,500 | 2–0–0 | [12] | |
| 3 | September 19 | Florida | 4–5 | Montreal | SO | Price | 19,101 | 3–0–0 | [13] |
| 4 | September 21 | Montreal | 4–0 | Ottawa | Kinkaid | 11,185 | 4–0–0 | [14] | |
| 5 | September 23 | Toronto | 3–0 | Montreal | Lindgren | – | 4–1–0 | [15] | |
| 6 | September 25 | Montreal | 0–3 | Toronto | Kinkaid | 18,863 | 4–2–0 | [16] | |
| 7 | September 28 | Ottawa | 3–4 | Montreal | OT | Price | 20,746 | 5–2–0 | [17] |
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Notes: | |||||||||
Regular season
The regular season schedule was released on June 25, 2019.[18]
| 2019–20 game log | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Legend: Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playoffs
The Canadiens defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in the qualifying round in four games.[90][91]
The Canadiens faced the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round,[92] but were eliminated in six games.
| 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Legend: Win Loss | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Player statistics
Skaters
Goaltenders
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carey Price | 58 | 58 | 3,439:49 | 27 | 25 | 6 | 160 | 2.79 | 1,755 | .909 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Charlie Lindgren | 6 | 6 | 360:51 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 3.33 | 178 | .888 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cayden Primeau | 2 | 2 | 119:06 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2.52 | 72 | .931 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Keith Kinkaid | 6 | 5 | 339:59 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 24 | 4.24 | 192 | .875 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carey Price | 10 | 10 | 605:32 | 5 | 5 | 18 | 1.78 | 282 | .936 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Canadiens. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only.
‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.
Suspensions/fines
| Player | Explanation | Length | Salary | Date issued | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Cousins | Boarding Red Wings defenceman Mike Green | N/A | $2,688.17 | January 8, 2020 | [107] |
| Claude Julien | Inappropriate comments against officials during a postgame press conference | N/A | $10,000.00 | February 17, 2020 | [108] |
Awards and honours
Awards
| Player | Award | Awarded | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shea Weber | NHL All-Star Game selection | December 30, 2019 | [109] |
| Nick Suzuki | NHL All-Rookie Team selection | September 21, 2020 | [110] |
Milestones
|
|
Transactions
The Canadiens have been involved in the following transactions during the 2019–20 season.
Trades
| Date | Details | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 22, 2019 | To Florida Panthers CHI's 5th-round pick in 2019 |
To Montreal Canadiens 5th-round pick in 2020 |
[137] |
| June 22, 2019 | To San Jose Sharks 4th-round pick in 2019 |
To Montreal Canadiens 4th-round pick in 2020 |
[138] |
| June 22, 2019 | To Philadelphia Flyers 7th-round pick in 2020 |
To Montreal Canadiens 7th-round pick in 2019 |
[139] |
| June 22, 2019 | To Los Angeles Kings CBJ's 2nd-round pick in 2019 |
To Montreal Canadiens 3rd-round pick in 2019 5th-round pick in 2019 |
[140] |
| June 30, 2019 | To Chicago Blackhawks Andrew Shaw 7th-round pick in 2021 |
To Montreal Canadiens 2nd-round pick in 2020 7th-round pick in 2020 3rd-round pick in 2021 |
[141] |
| June 30, 2019 | To Anaheim Ducks Nicolas Deslauriers |
To Montreal Canadiens 4th-round pick in 2020 |
[142] |
| January 2, 2020 | To Buffalo Sabres SJ's 4th-round pick in 2020 |
To Montreal Canadiens Marco Scandella |
[143] |
| January 2, 2020 | To Ottawa Senators Mike Reilly |
To Montreal Canadiens Andrew Sturtz 5th-round pick in 2021 |
[144] |
| January 7, 2020 | To Nashville Predators Michael McCarron |
To Montreal Canadiens Laurent Dauphin |
[145] |
| February 18, 2020 | To St. Louis Blues Marco Scandella |
To Montreal Canadiens 2nd-round pick in 2020 Conditional 4th-round pick in 2021 |
[146] |
| February 20, 2020 | To Pittsburgh Penguins Riley Barber Phil Varone |
To Montreal Canadiens Joseph Blandisi Jake Lucchini |
[147] |
| February 23, 2020 | To Washington Capitals Ilya Kovalchuk |
To Montreal Canadiens 3rd-round pick in 2020 |
[148] |
| February 24, 2020 | To Philadelphia Flyers Nate Thompson |
To Montreal Canadiens 5th-round pick in 2021 |
[149] |
| February 24, 2020 | To Ottawa Senators Matthew Peca |
To Montreal Canadiens Aaron Luchuk 7th-round pick in 2020 |
[150] |
| February 24, 2020 | To Vegas Golden Knights Nick Cousins |
To Montreal Canadiens 4th-round pick in 2021 |
[151] |
| September 2, 2020 | To St. Louis Blues WSH's 3rd-round pick in 2020 CHI's 7th-round pick in 2020 |
To Montreal Canadiens Jake Allen 7th-round pick in 2022 |
[152] |
| September 12, 2020 | To Carolina Hurricanes 5th-round pick in 2020 |
To Montreal Canadiens Joel Edmundson |
[153] |
Free agents
| Date | Player | Team | Contract term | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1, 2019 | Riley Barber | from Washington Capitals | 1-year | [154] |
| July 1, 2019 | Keith Kinkaid | from New Jersey Devils | 1-year | [155] |
| July 1, 2019 | Brett Lernout | to Vegas Golden Knights | 1-year | [156] |
| July 3, 2019 | Phil Varone | from Philadelphia Flyers | 1-year | [157] |
| July 4, 2019 | Ben Chiarot | from Winnipeg Jets | 3-year | [158] |
| July 5, 2019 | Nick Cousins | from Arizona Coyotes | 1-year | [159] |
| July 18, 2019 | Hunter Shinkaruk | to Charlotte Checkers (AHL) | 1-year | [160] |
| September 13, 2019 | Daniel Audette | to Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL) | 1-year | [161] |
| January 3, 2020 | Ilya Kovalchuk | from Los Angeles Kings | 1-year | [162] |
| April 21, 2020 | Vasili Demchenko | from Metallurg Magnitogorsk (KHL) | 1-year | [163] |
Contract terminations
| Date | Player | Via | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 7, 2019 | David Sklenicka | Mutual termination | [164] |
Signings
| Date | Player | Contract term | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 11, 2019 | Joel Armia | 2-year | [165] |
| July 11, 2019 | Artturi Lehkonen | 2-year | [166] |
| July 19, 2019 | Charles Hudon | 1-year | [167] |
| July 27, 2019 | Michael McCarron | 1-year | [168] |
| March 19, 2020 | Alex Belzile | 1-year | [169] |
| March 25, 2020 | Gustav Olofsson | 1-year | [170] |
| March 26, 2020 | Jesse Ylonen | 3-year | [171] |
| April 3, 2020 | Laurent Dauphin | 1-year | [172] |
| May 1, 2020 | Arsen Khisamutdinov | 2-year | [173] |
| May 12, 2020 | Cam Hillis | 3-year | [174] |
| July 13, 2020 | Alexander Romanov | 3-year | [175] |
| September 4, 2020 | Lukas Vejdemo | 1-year | [176] |
| September 16, 2020 | Joel Edmundson | 4-year | [177] |
| September 23, 2020 | Jake Evans | 2-year | [178] |
| September 25, 2020 | Joseph Blandisi | 1-year | [179] |
| September 25, 2020 | Jeff Petry | 4-year | [180] |
| September 28, 2020 | Jake Lucchini | 1-year | [181] |
Draft picks
Below are the Montreal Canadiens' selections at the 2019 NHL entry draft, which was held on June 21 and 22, 2019, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | Cole Caufield | RW |  United States |
U.S. National Team Development Team (USHL) |
| 2 | 46 | Jayden Struble | D | United States |
St. Sebastian's (USHS-Prep) |
| 3 | 641 | Mattias Norlinder | D |  Sweden |
MODO (Sweden Jrs.) |
| 3 | 77 | Gianni Fairbrother | D |  Canada |
Everett Silvertips (WHL) |
| 5 | 1262 | Jacob LeGuerrier | D | Canada |
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) |
| 5 | 1313 | Rhett Pitlick | LW | United States |
Chaska (USHS-MN) |
| 5 | 1384 | Frederik Nissen Dichow | G |  Denmark |
Vojens (Denmark Jrs.) |
| 6 | 170 | Arsen Khisamutdinov | C |  Russia |
JHC Reaktor (MHL) |
| 7 | 2015 | Rafael Harvey-Pinard | LW | Canada |
Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL) |
| 7 | 2066 | Kieran Ruscheinski | D | Canada |
Calgary Northstars (AMHL) |
Notes
- The Los Angeles Kings' third-round pick went to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a trade on June 22, 2019, that sent Columbus' second-round pick in 2019 (50th overall) to Los Angeles in exchange for a fifth-round pick in 2019 (126th overall) and this pick.[182]
- The Los Angeles Kings' fifth-round pick went to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a trade on June 22, 2019 that sent Columbus' second-round pick in 2019 (50th overall) to Los Angeles in exchange for a third-round pick in 2019 (64th overall) and this pick[182]
- The Edmonton Oilers' fifth-round pick went to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a trade on June 23, 2018, that sent Hayden Hawkey to Edmonton in exchange for this pick.[183]
- The Arizona Coyotes' fifth-round pick went to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a trade on February 11, 2019, that sent Calgary's fourth-round pick in 2019 to Los Angeles in exchange for Nate Thompson and this pick.[184]
- Los Angeles previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on January 24, 2019, that sent Dominik Kubalik to Chicago in exchange for this pick.[185]
- Chicago previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on July 12, 2018 that sent Marian Hossa, Vinnie Hinostroza, Jordan Oesterle, and a third-round pick in 2019 to Arizona in exchange for Marcus Kruger, MacKenzie Entwistle, Jordan Maletta, Andrew Campbell, and this pick.[186]
- The Montreal Canadiens' seventh-round pick was re-acquired as the result of a trade on June 22, 2019, that sent a seventh-round pick in 2020 to Philadelphia in exchange for this pick.[187]
- The Winnipeg Jets' seventh-round pick went to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a trade on June 30, 2018, that sent Simon Bourque to Winnipeg in exchange for Steve Mason, Joel Armia, a fourth-round pick in 2020, and this pick.[189]