2003–04 Montreal Canadiens season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2003–04 Montreal Canadiens
Division	4th Northeast
Conference	7th Eastern
2003–04 record	41–30–7–4
Home record	23–13–4–1
Road record	18–17–3–3
Goals for	208
Goals against	192
Team information
General manager	Bob Gainey
Coach	Claude Julien
Captain	Saku Koivu
Alternate captains	Craig Rivet Sheldon Souray
Arena	Bell Centre
Average attendance	20,555
Minor league affiliate(s)	Hamilton Bulldogs Long Beach Ice Dogs
Team leaders
Goals	Richard Zednik (26)
Assists	Mike Ribeiro (45)
Points	Mike Ribeiro (65)
Penalty minutes	Darren Langdon (135)
Plus/minus	Patrice Brisebois (+17)
Wins	Jose Theodore (33)
Goals against average	Jose Theodore Mathieu Garon (2.27)
← 2002–03 2004–05 →

The 2003–04 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 95th season of play and their 87th in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Canadiens would return to the playoffs reaching the Eastern Conference Semifinals before being eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4–0.

Offseason

Bob Gainey, who played his entire 16 season NHL career with Montreal, was named the team’s new general manager on June 2, 2003, and assumed the role on July 1 from Andre Savard, who was demoted to assistant general manager.^[1]

Regular season

Heritage Classic

The Heritage Classic was an outdoor ice hockey game played on November 22, 2003, in Edmonton, Alberta, between the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens. It was the second NHL outdoor game and the first regular season outdoor game in the history of the NHL, and was modeled after the success of the "cold war" game between the University of Michigan and Michigan State University in 2001.^[2]

The first NHL game to be played outdoors was in 1991 when the Los Angeles Kings played the New York Rangers in an exhibition game outside Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.^[3] The event took place in Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium in front of a crowd of 57,167, the largest number of people to ever watch a live NHL game, despite temperatures of close to −18 °C, −30 °C (−22 °F) with wind chill. It was held to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Edmonton Oilers joining the NHL in 1979.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) television broadcast also set the record for most viewers of a single NHL game with 2.747 million nationwide. This was the first NHL game broadcast in HDTV on CBC.

The Canadiens won the game by a score of 4–3.

Final standings

Northeast Division^[4]
No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	2	Boston Bruins	82	41	19	15	7	209	188	104
2	4	Toronto Maple Leafs	82	45	24	10	3	242	204	103
3	5	Ottawa Senators	82	43	23	10	6	262	189	102
4	7	Montreal Canadiens	82	41	30	7	4	208	192	93
5	9	Buffalo Sabres	82	37	34	7	4	220	221	85

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Eastern Conference^[5]
R		Div	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	Z- Tampa Bay Lightning	SE	82	46	22	8	6	245	192	106
2	Y- Boston Bruins	NE	82	41	19	15	7	209	188	104
3	Y- Philadelphia Flyers	AT	82	40	21	15	6	209	188	101
4	X- Toronto Maple Leafs	NE	82	45	24	10	3	242	204	103
5	X- Ottawa Senators	NE	82	43	23	10	6	262	189	102
6	X- New Jersey Devils	AT	82	43	25	12	2	213	164	100
7	X- Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	41	30	7	4	208	192	93
8	X- New York Islanders	AT	82	38	29	11	4	237	210	91
8.5
9	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	37	34	7	4	220	221	85
10	Atlanta Thrashers	SE	82	33	37	8	4	214	243	78
11	Carolina Hurricanes	SE	82	28	34	14	6	172	209	76
12	Florida Panthers	SE	82	28	35	15	4	188	221	75
13	New York Rangers	AT	82	27	40	7	8	206	250	69
14	Washington Capitals	SE	82	23	46	10	3	186	253	59
15	Pittsburgh Penguins	AT	82	23	47	8	4	190	303	58

Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast

Z – Clinched Conference; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

Schedule and results

Regular season

2003–04 regular season^[6]

October: 6–5–0–0 (home: 4–3–0–0; road: 2–2–0–0)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Points	Recap
1	L	October 9, 2003	2–5	@ Ottawa Senators (2003–04)	0–1–0–0	0	Recap
2	W	October 11, 2003	4–0	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)	1–1–0–0	2	Recap
3	W	October 14, 2003	5–1	Washington Capitals (2003–04)	2–1–0–0	4	Recap
4	W	October 16, 2003	4–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)	3–1–0–0	6	Recap
5	L	October 18, 2003	0–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)	3–2–0–0	6	Recap
6	W	October 20, 2003	2–1	Detroit Red Wings (2003–04)	4–2–0–0	8	Recap
7	W	October 23, 2003	3–0	New York Islanders (2003–04)	5–2–0–0	10	Recap
8	L	October 25, 2003	2–6	Ottawa Senators (2003–04)	5–3–0–0	10	Recap
9	L	October 27, 2003	0–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)	5–4–0–0	10	Recap
10	L	October 28, 2003	0–2	Boston Bruins (2003–04)	5–5–0–0	10	Recap
11	W	October 30, 2003	1–0 OT	@ Boston Bruins (2003–04)	6–5–0–0	12	Recap

November: 4–6–2–1 (home: 1–3–2–0; road: 3–3–0–1)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Points	Recap
12	L	November 1, 2003	1–5	New York Rangers (2003–04)	6–6–0–0	12	Recap
13	L	November 4, 2003	2–4	Edmonton Oilers (2003–04)	6–7–0–0	12	Recap
14	L	November 7, 2003	1–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)	6–8–0–0	12	Recap
15	W	November 8, 2003	3–0	Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)	7–8–0–0	14	Recap
16	T	November 11, 2003	1–1 OT	Columbus Blue Jackets (2003–04)	7–8–1–0	15	Recap
17	L	November 13, 2003	1–3	@ New York Islanders (2003–04)	7–9–1–0	15	Recap
18	W	November 15, 2003	3–2	@ Ottawa Senators (2003–04)	8–9–1–0	17	Recap
19	OTL	November 18, 2003	4–5 OT	@ Vancouver Canucks (2003–04)	8–9–1–1	18	Recap
20	L	November 20, 2003	1–2	@ Calgary Flames (2003–04)	8–10–1–1	18	Recap
21	W	November 22, 2003	4–3	@ Edmonton Oilers (2003–04)	9–10–1–1	20	Recap
22	L	November 25, 2003	2–5	Vancouver Canucks (2003–04)	9–11–1–1	20	Recap
23	W	November 28, 2003	5–3	@ Washington Capitals (2003–04)	10–11–1–1	22	Recap
24	T	November 29, 2003	1–1 OT	Florida Panthers (2003–04)	10–11–2–1	23	Recap

December: 7–4–3–1 (home: 4–1–1–0; road: 3–3–2–1)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Points	Recap
25	W	December 2, 2003	3–2	Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)	11–11–2–1	25	Recap
26	T	December 5, 2003	1–1 OT	@ Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)	11–11–3–1	26	Recap
27	W	December 6, 2003	3–1	Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)	12–11–3–1	28	Recap
28	L	December 8, 2003	2–3	Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)	12–12–3–1	28	Recap
29	W	December 10, 2003	2–1	@ New York Rangers (2003–04)	13–12–3–1	30	Recap
30	L	December 12, 2003	2–4	@ Florida Panthers (2003–04)	13–13–3–1	30	Recap
31	W	December 13, 2003	5–2	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)	14–13–3–1	32	Recap
32	T	December 16, 2003	1–1 OT	Boston Bruins (2003–04)	14–13–4–1	33	Recap
33	W	December 18, 2003	5–4 OT	Nashville Predators (2003–04)	15–13–4–1	35	Recap
34	L	December 20, 2003	2–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)	15–14–4–1	35	Recap
35	W	December 22, 2003	4–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)	16–14–4–1	37	Recap
36	L	December 23, 2003	2–3	@ Washington Capitals (2003–04)	16–15–4–1	37	Recap
37	OTL	December 27, 2003	1–2 OT	@ Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)	16–15–4–2	38	Recap
38	W	December 29, 2003	2–1	@ Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)	17–15–4–2	40	Recap
39	T	December 31, 2003	1–1 OT	@ Dallas Stars (2003–04)	17–15–5–2	41	Recap

January: 8–5–1–0 (home: 4–3–1–0; road: 4–2–0–0)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Points	Recap
40	W	January 3, 2004	5–1	Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)	18–15–5–2	43	Recap
41	W	January 4, 2004	4–1	Washington Capitals (2003–04)	19–15–5–2	45	Recap
42	W	January 6, 2004	3–1	Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)	20–15–5–2	47	Recap
43	L	January 8, 2004	1–4	Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)	20–16–5–2	47	Recap
44	W	January 10, 2004	8–0	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)	21–16–5–2	49	Recap
45	W	January 13, 2004	5–2	St. Louis Blues (2003–04)	22–16–5–2	51	Recap
46	W	January 14, 2004	2–1	@ Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)	23–16–5–2	53	Recap
47	T	January 17, 2004	2–2 OT	New York Rangers (2003–04)	23–16–6–2	54	Recap
48	W	January 20, 2004	4–1	@ Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)	24–16–6–2	56	Recap
49	L	January 23, 2004	0–2	@ New Jersey Devils (2003–04)	24–17–6–2	56	Recap
50	L	January 24, 2004	1–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)	24–18–6–2	56	Recap
51	L	January 27, 2004	1–4	@ Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)	24–19–6–2	56	Recap
52	W	January 29, 2004	3–2 OT	@ Minnesota Wild (2003–04)	25–19–6–2	58	Recap
53	L	January 31, 2004	0–1	Boston Bruins (2003–04)	25–20–6–2	58	Recap

February: 8–5–0–0 (home: 5–1–0–0; road: 3–4–0–0)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Points	Recap
54	W	February 1, 2004	6–4	Chicago Blackhawks (2003–04)	26–20–6–2	60	Recap
55	W	February 3, 2004	4–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–04)	27–20–6–2	62	Recap
56	W	February 5, 2004	2–1	New York Islanders (2003–04)	28–20–6–2	64	Recap
57	L	February 10, 2004	1–2	@ Florida Panthers (2003–04)	28–21–6–2	64	Recap
58	L	February 12, 2004	3–5	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2003–04)	28–22–6–2	64	Recap
59	L	February 14, 2004	2–5	@ Ottawa Senators (2003–04)	28–23–6–2	64	Recap
60	L	February 17, 2004	1–4	Atlanta Thrashers (2003–04)	28–24–6–2	64	Recap
61	W	February 19, 2004	4–1	Calgary Flames (2003–04)	29–24–6–2	66	Recap
62	L	February 21, 2004	4–5	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)	29–25–6–2	66	Recap
63	W	February 23, 2004	4–1	@ New York Rangers (2003–04)	30–25–6–2	68	Recap
64	W	February 24, 2004	4–2	Ottawa Senators (2003–04)	31–25–6–2	70	Recap
65	W	February 26, 2004	3–2 OT	@ Boston Bruins (2003–04)	32–25–6–2	72	Recap
66	W	February 28, 2004	1–0 OT	Carolina Hurricanes (2003–04)	33–25–6–2	74	Recap

March: 7–4–1–2 (home: 4–1–0–1; road: 3–3–1–1)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Points	Recap
67	W	March 1, 2004	2–1	New Jersey Devils (2003–04)	34–25–6–2	76	Recap
68	L	March 3, 2004	3–4	@ San Jose Sharks (2003–04)	34–26–6–2	76	Recap
69	W	March 5, 2004	4–3	@ Phoenix Coyotes (2003–04)	35–26–6–2	78	Recap
70	W	March 6, 2004	4–2	@ Los Angeles Kings (2003–04)	36–26–6–2	80	Recap
71	W	March 8, 2004	5–2	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2003–04)	37–26–6–2	82	Recap
72	OTL	March 11, 2004	2–3 OT	Florida Panthers (2003–04)	37–26–6–3	83	Recap
73	W	March 13, 2004	4–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (2003–04)	38–26–6–3	85	Recap
74	W	March 16, 2004	4–2	Colorado Avalanche (2003–04)	39–26–6–3	87	Recap
75	T	March 19, 2004	1–1 OT	@ New Jersey Devils (2003–04)	39–26–7–3	88	Recap
76	W	March 20, 2004	3–2	New Jersey Devils (2003–04)	40–26–7–3	90	Recap
77	L	March 24, 2004	1–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)	40–27–7–3	90	Recap
78	L	March 25, 2004	0–4	Ottawa Senators (2003–04)	40–28–7–3	90	Recap
79	OTL	March 27, 2004	2–3 OT	@ Boston Bruins (2003–04)	40–28–7–4	91	Recap
80	L	March 31, 2004	1–5	@ New York Islanders (2003–04)	40–29–7–4	91	Recap

April: 1–1–0–0 (home: 1–1–0–0; road: 0–0–0–0)

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Points	Recap
81	L	April 1, 2004	0–2	Philadelphia Flyers (2003–04)	40–30–7–4	91	Recap
82	W	April 3, 2004	6–3	Buffalo Sabres (2003–04)	41–30–7–4	93	Recap

Legend:

Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Tie (1 point) Overtime loss (1 point)

Playoffs

2004 Stanley Cup playoffs^[6]

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (2) Boston Bruins – Canadiens win 4–3

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Series	Recap
1	April 7	Montreal	3–0	Boston		Raycroft	17,565	Boston leads 1–0	Recap
2	April 9	Montreal	2–1	Boston	OT	Raycroft	17,565	Boston leads 2–0	Recap
3	April 11	Boston	3–2	Montreal		Theodore	21,273	Boston leads 2–1	Recap
4	April 13	Boston	3–4	Montreal	OT	Raycroft	21,273	Boston leads 3–1	Recap
5	April 15	Montreal	5–1	Boston		Theodore	17,565	Boston leads 3–2	Recap
6	April 17	Boston	2–5	Montreal		Theodore	21,273	Series tied 3–3	Recap
7	April 19	Montreal	2–0	Boston		Theodore	17,565	Montreal wins 4–3	Recap

Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. (1) Tampa Bay Lightning – Tampa Bay wins series 4–0

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Series	Recap
1	April 23	Montreal	0–4	Tampa Bay		Theodore	18,904	Tampa Bay leads 1–0	Recap
2	April 25	Montreal	1–3	Tampa Bay		Theodore	19,435	Tampa Bay leads 2–0	Recap
3	April 27	Tampa Bay	3–2	Montreal	OT	Theodore	21,273	Tampa Bay leads 3–0	Recap
4	April 29	Tampa Bay	3–1	Montreal		Theodore	21,273	Tampa Bay wins 4–0	Recap

Legend:

Win Loss

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.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season						Playoffs
No.	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
71	Mike Ribeiro	C	81	20	45	65	15	34	11	2	1	3	0	18
73	Michael Ryder	RW	81	25	38	63	10	26	11	1	2	3	−5	4
11	Saku Koivu	C	68	14	41	55	−5	52	11	3	8	11	1	10
20	Richard Zednik	RW	81	26	24	50	5	63	11	3	3	6	7	2
44	Sheldon Souray	D	63	15	20	35	4	104	11	0	2	2	−2	39
94	Yanic Perreault	C	69	16	15	31	−10	40	9	2	2	4	−3	0
43	Patrice Brisebois	D	71	4	27	31	17	22	11	2	1	3	−5	4
38	Jan Bulis	C	72	13	17	30	−8	30	11	1	1	2	−6	4
79	Andrei Markov	D	69	6	22	28	−2	20	11	1	4	5	3	8
26	Pierre Dagenais	RW	50	17	10	27	15	24	8	0	1	1	−1	6
37	Niklas Sundstrom	RW	66	8	12	20	3	18	4	1	0	1	−1	2
51	Francis Bouillon	D	73	2	16	18	1	70	11	0	0	0	−6	7
22	Steve Begin	C	52	10	5	15	6	41	9	0	1	1	0	10
90	Joe Juneau	C	70	5	10	15	−4	20	11	0	1	1	−2	4
17	Jason Ward	RW	53	5	7	12	3	21	5	0	2	2	−2	2
24	Andreas Dackell	RW	60	4	8	12	8	10	—	—	—	—	—	—
52	Craig Rivet	D	80	4	8	12	−1	98	11	1	4	5	2	2
82	Donald Audette‡	RW	23	3	5	8	−4	16	—	—	—	—	—	—
5	Stephane Quintal	D	73	3	5	8	10	82	4	0	0	0	−1	2
34	Jim Dowd†	C	14	3	2	5	6	6	11	0	2	2	−3	2
25	Chad Kilger‡	LW	36	2	2	4	2	14	—	—	—	—	—	—
8	Mike Komisarek	D	46	0	4	4	4	34	7	0	0	0	1	8
27	Alexei Kovalev†	RW	12	1	2	3	−4	12	11	6	4	10	2	8
15	Darren Langdon	LW	64	0	3	3	−2	135	9	1	0	1	0	6
60	Jose Theodore	G	67	0	3	3		4	11	0	2	2		0
65	Ron Hainsey	D	11	1	1	2	3	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
81	Marcel Hossa	LW	15	1	1	2	−3	8	—	—	—	—	—	—
46	Benoit Gratton	C	4	0	1	1	0	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
76	Jozef Balej‡	RW	4	0	0	0	−1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
32	Gordie Dwyer	LW	2	0	0	0	0	7	—	—	—	—	—	—
28	Karl Dykhuis	D	9	0	0	0	−2	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
30	Mathieu Garon	G	19	0	0	0		2	1	0	0	0		0
88	Chris Higgins	C	2	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
35	Tomas Plekanec	LW	2	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—

Goaltending

No.	Player	Regular season										Playoffs
No.	Player	GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
60	Jose Theodore	67	33	28	5	1860	150	2.27	.919	6	3961	11	4	7	333	27	2.39	.919	1	678
30	Mathieu Garon	19	8	6	2	480	38	2.27	.921	0	1003	1	0	0	6	0	0.00	1.000	0	12

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	NHL All-Rookie Team	Michael Ryder (Forward)	^[7]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Sheldon Souray	^[8]
	NHL All-Star Game selection	Jose Theodore	^[8]
	NHL Defensive Player of the Week	Jose Theodore (March 1)	^[9]
	NHL Offensive Player of the Week	Richard Zednik (March 8)	^[10]
	NHL Rookie of the Month	Michael Ryder (February)	^[11]
	NHL YoungStars Game selection	Michael Ryder	^[12]
Team	Jacques Beauchamp Molson Trophy	Francis Bouillon	^[13]
	Molson Cup	Jose Theodore	^[14]

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Michael Ryder	October 9, 2003	^[15]
	Chris Higgins	October 11, 2003
	Tomas Plekanec	December 31, 2003
	Jozef Balej	January 23, 2004
1,000th game played	Stephane Quintal	January 6, 2004	^[16]

Transactions

The Canadiens were involved in the following transactions from June 10, 2003, the day after the deciding game of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 7, 2004, the day of the deciding game of the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals.^[17]

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
June 22, 2003 (2003-06-22)	To Washington Capitals Nashville’s 4th-round pick in 2003	To Montreal Canadiens 4th-round pick in 2003 7th-round pick in 2003	^[18]
March 2, 2004 (2004-03-02)	To New York Rangers Jozef Balej 2nd-round pick in 2004	To Montreal Canadiens Alexei Kovalev	^[19]
March 4, 2004 (2004-03-04)	To Minnesota Wild 4th-round pick in 2004	To Montreal Canadiens Jim Dowd	^[20]
March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09)	To Vancouver Canucks Sylvain Blouin	To Montreal Canadiens Rene Vydareny	^[21]

Players acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Term	Via	Ref
July 4, 2003 (2003-07-04)	Pierre Dagenais	Florida Panthers	1-year^[a]	Free agency	^[22]
July 4, 2003 (2003-07-04)	Jean-Francois Damphousse	Calgary Flames	1-year^[a]	Free agency	^[22]
October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03)	Steve Begin	Buffalo Sabres		Waiver draft	^[23]
October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03)	Darren Langdon	Vancouver Canucks		Waiver draft	^[23]
March 19, 2004 (2004-03-19)	Yann Danis	Brown University (ECAC)	3-year	Free agency	^[24]

Players lost

Date	Player	New team	Via^[b]	Ref
July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01)	Mariusz Czerkawski	New York Islanders^[c]	Buyout	^[27]
	Randy McKay^[d]		Buyout	^[27]
	Matt O'Dette^[e]		Contract expiration (UFA)	^[25]
July 29, 2003 (2003-07-29)	Matthieu Descoteaux	Tappara (Liiga)	Free agency (VI)	^[30]
August 25, 2003 (2003-08-25)	Bill Lindsay	Atlanta Thrashers	Free agency (III)	^[31]
September 10, 2003 (2003-09-10)	Gino Odjick		Retirement (III)	^[32]
January 2, 2004 (2004-01-02)	Donald Audette	Florida Panthers^[f]	Buyout	^[34]
March 9, 2004 (2004-03-09)	Chad Kilger	Toronto Maple Leafs	Waivers	^[35]
May 1, 2004 (2004-05-01)	Joe Juneau		Retirement	^[36]
May 14, 2004 (2004-05-14)	Andreas Dackell	Brynas IF (SHL)	Free agency	^[37]

Signings

Date	Player	Term	Contract type	Ref
June 17, 2003 (2003-06-17)	Francois Beauchemin	2-year	Re-signing	^[38]
June 17, 2003 (2003-06-17)	Eric Fichaud	1-year	Option exercised	^[38]
July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01)	Chad Kilger	2-year	Re-signing	^[27]
July 4, 2003 (2003-07-04)	Jonathan Ferland	3-year	Entry-level	^[22]
July 11, 2003 (2003-07-11)	Alexander Perezhogin	3-year	Entry-level	^[39]
July 22, 2003 (2003-07-22)	Michael Ryder	1-year	Re-signing	^[40]
July 24, 2003 (2003-07-24)	Mike Ribeiro	1-year	Re-signing	^[41]
August 4, 2003 (2003-08-04)	Gordie Dwyer	2-year	Re-signing	^[42]
August 26, 2003 (2003-08-26)	Andrei Markov	2-year	Re-signing	^[43]
September 4, 2003 (2003-09-04)	Matt Shasby	2-year	Entry-level	^[17]
September 5, 2003 (2003-09-05)	Saku Koivu	2-year	Re-signing	^[44]
June 1, 2004 (2004-06-01)	Michael Lambert	3-year	Entry-level	^[45]

Draft picks

Montreal's draft picks at the 2003 NHL entry draft held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee.^[46]

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/junior/club team
1	10	Andrei Kostitsyn (RW)	Belarus	CSKA Moscow (RSL)
2	40	Cory Urquhart (C)	Canada	Montreal Rocket (QMJHL)
2	61	Maxim Lapierre (C)	Canada	Montreal Rocket (QMJHL)
3	79	Ryan O'Byrne (D)	Canada	Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
4	113	Corey Locke (C)	Canada	Ottawa 67's (OHL)
4	123	Danny Stewart (LW)	Canada	Rimouski Océanic (QMJHL)
6	177	Christopher Heino-Lindberg (G)	Sweden	Hammarby IF (Sweden)
6	188	Mark Flood (D)	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OHL)
7	217	Oskari Korpikari (D)	Finland	Oulun Kärpät (Finland)
8	241	Jimmy Bonneau (LW)	Canada	Montreal Rocket (QMJHL)
9	271	Jaroslav Halak (G)	Slovakia	Slovan Bratislava Jr. (Slovakia)

Notes

^ ^a ^b Club option for a second year
^ In parentheses is the player's free agency group on July 1 if applicable.^[25]
^ Czerkawski signed with New York on July 17.^[26]
^ McKay announced his retirement on September 13, 2003.^[28]
^ O'Dette was inactive during the 2003–04 season.^[29]
^ Audette signed with Florida on January 16.^[33]

References

"Montreal Canadiens 2003–04 roster and statistics". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
"2003–04 Montreal Canadiens Roster and Statistics". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 8, 2022.

^ "Canadiens name Gainey GM". UPI. June 2, 2003. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
^ "Edmonton Oilers Heritage Website - Heritage Classic". Archived from the original on December 4, 2007. Retrieved November 22, 2007.
^ "Not exactly the first time". CBC News. Archived from the original on November 15, 2007. Retrieved November 22, 2007.
^ "2003-2004 Division Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
^ "2003–2004 Standings by Conference". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
^ ^a ^b "2003-04 Montreal Canadiens Schedule and Results". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
^ "Postseason All-Star Teams". records.nhl.com. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
^ "2004 NHL All-Star Game Rosters". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
^ Naylor, David (March 2, 2004). "Habs take shine off Brodeur". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved August 12, 2022. Theodore entered last night's game after being chosen the NHL's defensive player of the week, allowing just five goals in his previous four games.
^ "Zednik, Khabibulin earn weekly honors". TSN.ca. March 8, 2004. Archived from the original on March 28, 2004. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
^ "Former Mississippi Right Wing Ryder Named NHL Rookie of the Month". OurSports Central. March 2, 2004. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
^ "2004 YoungStars Game rosters". ESPN.com. January 24, 2004. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
^ "Bouillon receives Jacques-Beauchamp Molson Trophy". Montreal Canadiens. April 1, 2004. Archived from the original on April 3, 2004. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
^ "Theodore named Molson Cup Player of the Year for a fourth consecutive season". Montreal Canadiens. April 2, 2004. Archived from the original on April 7, 2004. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
^ "2003-04 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
^ "Habs use early goals to extend win streak". The Globe and Mail. January 7, 2004. Retrieved August 12, 2022. Defenceman Stephane Quintal received a piece of crystal from the NHL and a silver hockey stick from the Canadiens in a pregame ceremony to mark his 1,000th NHL game.
^ ^a ^b "Hockey Transactions Search Results". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
^ "NHL DRAFT TRADES". The Globe and Mail. June 23, 2003. Retrieved November 29, 2022. Montreal traded a fourth-round selection (109th overall, previously acquired from Nashville) in the 2003 Entry Draft to Washington for the Capitals' fourth-round (123rd overall) and seventh-round (217th overall) selections in the 2003 Entry Draft.
^ Brooks, Larry (March 3, 2004). "RANGERS TRADE KOVALEV TO HABS". New York Post. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^ "Jim Dowd goes from Wild to Canadiens". UPI. March 4, 2003. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^ "Canucks add Sanderson, Rucinsky at forward". ESPN.com. March 10, 2004. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Canadiens sign Pierre Dagenais and Jean-François Damphousse". Montreal Canadiens. July 4, 2003. Archived from the original on August 6, 2003. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "20 picked in NHL waiver draft". ESPN.com. October 3, 2003. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^ "Habs sign goaltender Danis". TSN.ca. March 19, 2004. Archived from the original on October 24, 2004. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "2003 NHL free agent list". ESPN.com. July 1, 2003. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
^ "Thursday roundup: Czerkawski returns to Isles". ESPN.com. July 17, 2003. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Kilger agrees to two-year deal". Montreal Canadiens. July 1, 2003. Archived from the original on July 24, 2003. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^ Randy McKay at Hockey-Reference.com, retrieved May 23, 2022
^ Matt O'Dette career statistics at EliteProspects.com, retrieved May 23, 2022
^ "DESCOTEAUX VAHVISTAA KIRVESRINTOJA". Tappara (in Finnish). July 29, 2003. Archived from the original on August 5, 2003. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^ "Thrashers sign Lindsay". CBC.ca. August 25, 2003. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^ "GINO ODJICK". TSN.ca. January 24, 2004. Archived from the original on January 24, 2004. Retrieved May 23, 2022. 10-Sep-03: Announced his retirement.
^ "Florida signs Donald Audette". UPI. January 16, 2004. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^ "Canadiens buy out Audette". Chicago Tribune. January 3, 2004. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^ "Kilger Claimed On Waivers". Toronto Maple Leafs. March 9, 2004. Archived from the original on April 23, 2004. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
^ "Canadiens F Juneau announces retirement". ESPN.com. May 1, 2004. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^ ""Dacke" hemma igen". Brynäs IF (in Swedish). May 14, 2004. Archived from the original on June 4, 2004. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Beauchemin, Fichaud and Carpentier Under Contract". OurSports Central. June 17, 2003. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^ "Perezhogin under contract with the Canadiens". Montreal Canadiens. July 11, 2003. Archived from the original on August 6, 2003. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^ "Ryder signs one-year deal with Habs". Montreal Canadiens. July 22, 2003. Archived from the original on August 6, 2003. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^ "Ribeiro under contract with the Canadiens". Montreal Canadiens. July 24, 2003. Archived from the original on August 7, 2003. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^ "Dwyer sous contrat avec les Canadiens". Montreal Canadiens (in French). August 4, 2003. Archived from the original on August 7, 2003. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^ "Markov re-signs with Canadiens". CBC.ca. August 27, 2003. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^ "Canadiens Re-Sign Koivu". AP NEWS. September 5, 2003. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^ "Canadiens sign forward Michaël Lambert". Montreal Canadiens. June 1, 2004. Archived from the original on June 3, 2004. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^ "2003 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 8, 2022.

v t e Montreal Canadiens seasons
1900s	1909–10
1910s	1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20
1920s	1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30
1930s	1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40
1940s	1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50
1950s	1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960s	1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970s	1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00
2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020s	2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Highlighted seasons indicate Stanley Cup championship

v t e Montreal Canadiens
Founded in 1909 Based in Montreal, Quebec
Franchise	Team General managers Coaches Players Captains Draft picks Seasons Current season
History	History Original Six Centennial Records Award winners Retired numbers Broadcasters
Personnel	Owner(s) Molson family (Geoff Molson, chairman) General manager Kent Hughes Head coach Martin St. Louis Team captain Nick Suzuki Current roster
Arenas	Jubilee Arena Montreal Arena Mount Royal Arena Montreal Forum Bell Centre
Rivalries	Boston Bruins Quebec Nordiques Toronto Maple Leafs
Affiliates	AHL Laval Rocket ECHL Trois-Rivières Lions
Media	TV TSN2 (English) RDS (French) Radio TSN Radio 690 (English) 98,5 FM (French)
Culture and lore	Youppi! The Hockey Sweater Pour toujours, les Canadiens! Ginette Reno Tour des Canadiens The Punch Line Richard Riot 1938 European tour "Fix You" Good Friday Massacre 2003 Heritage Classic 2011 Heritage Classic 2016 Winter Classic 100 Classic Bell Sports Complex
Category Commons

v t e 2003–04 NHL season
Atlantic	New Jersey NY Islanders NY Rangers Philadelphia Pittsburgh
Northeast	Boston Buffalo Montreal Ottawa Toronto
Southeast	Atlanta Carolina Florida Tampa Bay Washington
Central	Chicago Columbus Detroit Nashville St. Louis
Northwest	Calgary Colorado Edmonton Minnesota Vancouver
Pacific	Anaheim Dallas Los Angeles Phoenix San Jose
See also	Draft Waiver draft NHL Challenge All-Star Game Heritage Classic Bertuzzi–Moore incident Flyers–Senators brawl West Coast Express Playoffs Stanley Cup Finals Transactions

Categories:

Hidden categories:

Offseason

Regular season

Heritage Classic

Final standings

Schedule and results

Regular season

Playoffs

Player statistics

Scoring

Goaltending

Awards and records

Awards

Milestones

Transactions

Trades

Players acquired

Players lost

Signings

Draft picks

See also

Notes

References