Pos | Role | Name |
C | 1 | Jonathan Drouin  ActiveJonathan Drouin wasn't asked to play for Team Canada at the World Hockey Championship. Drouin had a difficult first year in Montreal, so it's not surprising that he hasn't been asked to be part of the team. The 22-year-old had 13 goals and 46 points in 77 games this season. It'll be interesting to see if he'll be used at center again next year or if the Canadiens will put him back on the wing. That will likely depend on whether or not GM Marc Bergevin can finally land a legitimate top two center. Apr 9 |
| 2 | Phillip Danault  SidelinedPhillip Danault (upper body) will not suit up in Saturday's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Danault has now missed four consecutive games because of the injury. He has eight goals, 25 points and 34 penalty minutes in 52 games this season. He's day-to-day at this point. David Schlemko, Victor Mete, Rinat Valiev, Max Pacioretty and Andrew Shaw will also miss the game due to injury. Byron Froese will serve as a healthy scratch for Montreal. Mar 17 |
| 3 | Jacob De La Rose  ActiveJacob De La Rose will represent Sweden at the upcoming World Hockey Championship. De La Rose had four goals and eight assists in 55 games with the Canadiens this season. The 22-year-old has good size and skating ability, but he's had a hard time standing out on the ice. He has a future in the NHL, but it will likely be as a third or fourth line center with little offensive upside. Apr 9 |
| 4 | Byron Froese  ActiveThe Montreal Canadiens will scratch Byron Froese tonight against the Washington Capitals. The Habs are making a small swap of Froese for Mike McCarron on the fourth line. Carey Price in goal will be the only other change. Mar 24 |
LW | 1 | Max Pacioretty  I.L.Max Pacioretty (knee) has been medically cleared. Pacioretty can begin his off-season training to prepare for the 2018-19 campaign. He suffered a sprained MCL back on Mar. 2, which ended what was already a disappointing season for the star winger. Apr 9 |
| 2 | Alex Galchenyuk  ActiveAlex Galchenyuk has picked up six points in his last six games. Galchenyuk got off to a tough start, as Claude Julien had him playing on the fourth line at the beginning of the season, but he's really improved his overall game as the season has progressed. The 24-year-old has 19 goals and 51 points in 81 games this season. Of all the Canadiens players on the roster, only Brendan Gallagher has picked up more points than him in 2017-18. Apr 7 |
| 3 | Paul Byron  SidelinedPaul Byron underwent surgery on his right shoulder Wednesday. Byron is expected to need six months to recover, so he may not be ready to play when the 2018-19 campaign begins. He was not 100 percent at the end of the year, but played in all 82 contests. He finished the season with 20 goals and 35 points. Apr 18 |
| 4 | Charles Hudon  SidelinedCharles Hudon (undisclosed) will miss Saturday's game against Toronto. Hudon played in Thursday's game against the Red Wings, but he'll sit this meaningless game tonight. He'll finish the season with 10 goals and 30 points in 72 games. Byron Froese will take his spot in the lineup. Apr 7 |
| 5 | Daniel Carr  ActiveDaniel Carr scored the Canadiens' lone goal on Sunday night against New Jersey. Carr now has five goals and 15 points in 35 games this season. Carr scored in the first period of a 2-1 loss to the Devils. Apr 1 |
| 6 | Nicolas Deslauriers  ActiveNicolas Deslauriers scored a pair of goals in Thursday's 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings. Deslauriers' first goal gave the Habs a 1-0 lead in the opening period, while his second made it 3-2 for the Canadiens in the middle frame. He finished the night with a plus-1 rating, four shots on goal and one hit in 12:19 of ice time. The 27-year-old had a pretty impressive year by his standards, as he's up to 10 goals and 14 assists in 57 games this season. By comparison, he had no goals and two assists in 42 games with Buffalo last year. Artturi Lehkonen and Brendan Gallagher also scored for Montreal on Thursday. Apr 5 |
RW | 1 | Brendan Gallagher  ActiveBrenden Gallagher has picked up nine points in his last eight games. Gallagher has easily been Montreal's best player throughout the 2017-18 season. The 25-year-old has accumulated 31 goals and 53 points in 81 games this season (both career-highs). He also won the Molson Cup which is awarded to the Canadiens' most valuable player. It's nice to see him bounce back after he was forced to battle through various injuries over the last two years. Apr 7 |
| 2 | Andrew Shaw  SidelinedAndrew Shaw underwent knee surgery Wednesday and he may not be ready to play when the 2018-19 season begins. Shaw is expected to need a minimum of six months to recover. He sustained the injured knee and a concussion back on March 13 against Dallas. Shaw skated in 51 games in 2017-18, while generating 10 goals, 10 assists and 53 penalty minutes. Apr 26 |
| 3 | Artturi Lehkonen  ActiveArtturi Lehkonen had the game-winning goal Thursday night in a 4-3 victory over Detroit. Lehkonen's insurance goal early in the third period turned out to be the game winner. He has two goals and one assist over a three-game point streak, but it hasn't been a good year for him. He has generated only 12 markers and 21 points in 65 matches. Montreal coach Claude Julien expects Lehkonen to bounce back in 2018-19. Apr 6 |
| 4 | Logan Shaw  ActiveLogan Shaw will be a healthy scratch today. Some pre-game confusion had Montreal roster 13 forwards and five defensemen but that was quickly corrected by the Canadiens. Nikita Scherbak will join Shaw as healthy scratches and Brett Lernout will draw into the lineup as the sixth defensemen. Mar 10 |
| 5 | Ales Hemsky  I.L.Ales Hemsky (concussion) has been cleared for contact. Hemsky isn't going to make his return on Saturday, but this is a big step in the right direction. He last played on Oct. 20, so rust will be a concern one he does return. Feb 23 |
| 6 | Nikita Scherbak  SidelinedNikita Scherbak (concussion) didn't make the trip to Detroit. Scherbak should not be expected to play Thursday night after he suffered a concussion on Tuesday. It's unlikely he will be back for Saturday's regular-season finale against Toronto. Apr 5 |
D | 1 | Shea Weber  I.L.Shea Weber confirmed on Tuesday that his foot was fractured during the first game of the season on Oct. 5 in Buffalo. Weber suffered the injury when he was struck by a shot, but he played in 15 consecutive games afterward until he was forced to sit one contest because of an unrelated injury. He was in and out of the lineup after that for a while before he was shut down. Weber ended up having surgery to repair two tendons in his left foot. He hopes to be ready for training camp in the fall. Mar 28 |
| 2 | Jeff Petry  ActiveJeff Petry scored a goal in Saturday's 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Petry scored a power-play goal in the last minute of regulation when his shot went off a Maple Leafs player and into the net. The Habs blue liner finished the game with an even rating, three shots on goal and one blocked shot in 21:46 of ice time. Petry finishes the year with 12 goals and 42 points in 82 games this season. The 30-year-old struggled at times this season, but he managed to be one of the better players on the blue line after Shea Weber went down in December. Apr 7 |
| 3 | Jordie Benn  ActiveJordie Benn will be a healthy scratch in Thursday's game against the Detroit Red Wings. Benn was also scratched in Tuesday's game against the Winnipeg Jets. The 30-year-old has four goals, 15 points and a minus-2 rating in 76 games this season. Byron Froese will also watch the game from the press box. Apr 5 |
| 4 | Karl Alzner  ActiveKarl Alzner scored his first goal as a member of the Canadiens on Sunday in a 5-2 win over Vancouver. Alzner also added an assist and concluded the contest with a plus-3 rating. The former Capitals defenseman has seven points in 42 games this season with Montreal. Jan 8 |
| 5 | David Schlemko  SidelinedUpdating a previous item, David Schlemko is out of Saturday's game because of an undisclosed injury. Schlemko had one goal and four assists in 37 games with the Canadiens this season. He will be replaced by Jordie Benn. Apr 7 |
| 6 | Mike Reilly  ActiveMike Reilly will be a healthy scratch in Saturday's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Reilly has picked up a respectable seven assists in 15 games since joining the Canadiens in February, but that's not enough to keep him on the ice. David Schlemko, who is coming back from an injury, will take his spot in the lineup. Byron Froese and Kerby Rychel are also expected to watch the game from the press box. Mar 31 |
| 7 | Noah Juulsen  ActiveCoach Claude Julien has liked what he's seen from Noah Juulsen. "The best way for players to get better is to help themselves," said Julien. "In (Juulsen's) case, I think he's got a great attitude. He's a smart player, skates well enough. He's been good, but you can see that at times he's learning from his mistakes. There's still some mistakes made out there by our young players that you hope down the road will minimize itself and we'll be better for it." Juulsen has skated in 10 games with the Canadiens this year and could become a regular blueliner for the team next season. However, he shouldn't be on your fantasy radar at this time. Mar 13 |
| 8 | Victor Mete  I.L.Victor Mete (finger) is expected to miss six weeks, so he probably won't play again this season. Mete sustained a fracture to a finger on Mar. 2 against the New York Islanders. The rookie blueliner has skated in 49 games with the Canadiens this year and he has contributed seven assists. Mar 5 |
G | 1 | Carey Price  ActiveCarey Price allowed four goals on 30 shots in Saturday's 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Price finished the game off by giving the puck away to Patrick Marleau, who buried it to make it 4-2 for Toronto. It was a horrendous year for Price, as he easily had the worst season of his career. The 30-year-old will finish 2017-18 with 16-26-7 record with a 3.11 goals-against-average and a .900 save percentage. The Canadiens need him to bounce back next season when his new eight-year, $84 million contract kicks in. Apr 7 |
| 2 | Antti Niemi  ActiveAntti Niemi allowed three goals on 26 shots in Thursday's 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings. Niemi has now rattled off two victories in his last three games. It's been a wild year for the veteran as he was placed on waivers twice (once by Pittsburgh, once by Florida) before finding a steady home in Montreal. If you remove his stats from his time with the Pens and Panthers, the 34-year-old has a 7-5-4 record with a 2.46 goals-against-average and a .929 save percentage. Those are respectable numbers for a goalie playing on a bad defensive team. The pending unrestricted free agent has clearly benefitted from being reunited with his former goalie coach in Chicago, Stephane Waite. Apr 5 |