Montreal Canadiens Quarter-Century Teams unveiled

With 2025 underway, the NHL is celebrating the best of the past 25 years by revealing Quarter-Century Teams for each of the League's 32 franchises and the Arizona Coyotes.

Each club will be represented by a First Team and Second Team of six players -- three forwards, two defensemen and one goalie -- who played for the franchise from Jan. 1, 2000 - Dec. 31, 2024. The first and second teams were selected by broadcasters, national, local and NHL.com writers who have covered the respective teams, in addition to select former players.

The six players voted to each First Team will be on the ballot for the NHL All Quarter-Century Team that will be chosen via a fan vote that will start in February.

Today, the First and Second Quarter-Century Teams for the Montreal Canadiens. Players are listed in alphabetical order.

MONTREAL CANADIENS QUARTER-CENTURY TEAMS

First Team

Forwards

Saku Koivu

Alex Kovalev

Tomas Plekanec

Defensemen

Andrei Markov

Shea Weber

Goalie

Carey Price

Forwards: The longest-tenured Canadiens captain (1999-2009) next to late team icon Jean Beliveau (1961-71), Koivu is beloved in Montreal to this day for his grace, leadership and inspirational public battle with cancer. The Canadiens' first selection (No. 21) in the 1993 NHL Draft had 428 points (124 goals, 304 assists) in the quarter century and 641 points (191 goals, 450 assists) in 13 seasons for Montreal before playing the last five seasons of his NHL career (2009-14) for the Anaheim Ducks. Kovalev played 314 of his 1,316 NHL games with the Canadiens after arriving in a trade with the New York Rangers on March 2, 2004. "L'Artiste" (the Artist) electrified Montreal fans with his creativity and flashy scoring (264 points; 103 goals, 161 assists). Plekanec was selected by the Canadiens in the third round (No. 71) of the 2001 NHL Draft and played 984 of his 1,001 games for Montreal (the other 17 for the Toronto Maple Leafs). He was a hugely effective center and fine defensive forward who had 606 points wearing the CH crest (233 goals, 373 assists).

Defensemen: Markov was a 990-game blue line pillar and power-play quarterback for Montreal, where he played his entire 16-season career while making every defense partner a better player. A diamond mined deep in the sixth round (No. 162) of the 1998 NHL Draft, Markov rebounded from two ACL surgeries to lead defensemen after Jan. 1, 2000, with 572 points (119 goals, 453 assists) and show the gift of strong, quiet leadership and a vision of passing lanes that didn't seem to exist. Weber arrived in Montreal from the Nashville Predators as part of the blockbuster trade for fellow defenseman P.K. Subban on June 29, 2016. He played only the final 275 of his 1,038 games for the Canadiens but the 2024 Hockey Hall of Famer was captain from 2018 through his final game in 2021, leading Montreal with his towering presence, thunderous shot and fearless shot-blocking.

Goalie: Price, the Canadiens' first-round pick (No. 5) in the 2005 NHL Draft, holds Montreal goaltending records that will stand for a long time: 361 regular-season victories; games played (712) and starts (700); saves (19,304) and shots against (21,059). His 49 shutouts are third behind early-era star George Hainsworth (75) and Jacques Plante (58). Price was the franchise goalie over most of 15 seasons, in 2014-15 becoming the first to sweep wins of the Hart Trophy voted as NHL most valuable player; Vezina Trophy as best goalie; the Ted Lindsay Award as MVP voted by NHL Players' Association members; and the William M. Jennings Trophy for allowing the League's fewest goals shared with Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Second Team

Forwards

Brendan Gallagher

Max Pacioretty

Nick Suzuki

Defensemen

Sheldon Souray

P.K. Subban

Goalie

Jose Theodore

Forwards: Chosen by the Canadiens in the fifth round (No. 147) of the 2010 NHL Draft, the rugged Gallagher has forever played larger than his 5-foot-9, 185-pound frame. The 443 points (228 goals, 215 assists) he had in 789 games is only a fraction of his blue-collar value to his team. Gallagher paying a tough price by parking himself in front of the goalie, backing down from no opponent and often drawing penalties. Pacioretty was chosen in the first round (No. 22) of the 2007 NHL Draft. He was captain from 2015-18 and played the first 10 seasons of his NHL career for Montreal, and had 448 points (226 goals, 222 assists) in 626 games before being traded to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sept. 10, 2018. He played his way into the hearts of fans for his courageous comeback following a March 8, 2011, collision with a Bell Centre stanchion that left him with career-threatening injuries. Suzuki is viewed as a key part of the present and future, arriving from Vegas as part of the Pacioretty trade. Named the 31st captain of the Canadiens on Sept. 12, 2022, at age 23, succeeding Weber, Suzuki had 329 points (119 goals, 203 assists) in 410 regular-season games.

Defensemen: Souray came to Montreal by way of trade with the New Jersey Devils on March 1, 2000, bringing a physical style and thunderous shot. In 324 games through five-plus seasons, he had 160 points (62 goals, 98 assists) with 556 penalty minutes, defending teammates without hesitation. Subban was one of the most popular Canadiens of the past quarter century, the 2013 Norris Trophy winner voted as the NHL's top defenseman engaging fans with his thousand-watt personality and rushes that never failed to dazzle, even if they didn't always end well. The Canadiens' second-round pick (No. 43) in the 2007 NHL Draft had 278 points (63 goals, 215 assists) with 532 penalty minutes in 434 games before the trade to Nashville.

Goalie: Theodore was a second-round pick (No. 44) in the 1994 NHL Draft who played his first eight seasons with Montreal before being traded to the Colorado Avalanche on March 8, 2006. He was 127-133-5 with 27 ties, a 2.53 goals-against average, .913 save percentage and 21 shutouts for the Canadiens after Jan. 1, 2000. Theodore was the sixth goalie in NHL history to score a goal, into an empty net to complete a 3-0 win against the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum on Jan. 2, 2001. In 2001-02, he became the third NHL goalie to win the Hart and Vezina trophies in the same season (Price, Dominik Hasek for the Buffalo Sabres in 1996-97 and 1997-98).

Coming Monday: Colorado Avalanche Quarter-Century Teams