# 2022–23 Montreal Canadiens season

The 2022–23 Montreal Canadiens season was the franchise's 114th season since its establishment on December 4, 1909, and their 106th season as member of the National Hockey League. On March 28, 2023, the Canadiens were eliminated from playoff contention for the second consecutive season following a 3–2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.

## Standings
### Divisional standings

Atlantic Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | p – Boston Bruins | 82 | 65 | 12 | 5 | 54 | 305 | 177 | +128 | 135 |
| 2 | x – Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 50 | 21 | 11 | 42 | 279 | 222 | +57 | 111 |
| 3 | x – Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 46 | 30 | 6 | 38 | 283 | 254 | +29 | 98 |
| 4 | x – Florida Panthers | 82 | 42 | 32 | 8 | 36 | 290 | 273 | +17 | 92 |
| 5 | e – Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 42 | 33 | 7 | 30 | 296 | 300 | −4 | 91 |
| 6 | e – Ottawa Senators | 82 | 39 | 35 | 8 | 31 | 261 | 271 | −10 | 86 |
| 7 | e – Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 35 | 37 | 10 | 28 | 240 | 279 | −39 | 80 |
| 8 | e – Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 31 | 45 | 6 | 21 | 232 | 307 | −75 | 68 |

### Conference standings

Eastern Conference Wild Card :
| Pos | Div | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | ME | x – New York Islanders | 82 | 42 | 31 | 9 | 36 | 243 | 222 | +21 | 93 |
| 2 | AT | x – Florida Panthers | 82 | 42 | 32 | 8 | 36 | 290 | 273 | +17 | 92 |
| 3 | ME | e – Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 40 | 31 | 11 | 31 | 262 | 264 | −2 | 91 |
| 4 | AT | e – Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 42 | 33 | 7 | 30 | 296 | 300 | −4 | 91 |
| 5 | AT | e – Ottawa Senators | 82 | 39 | 35 | 8 | 31 | 261 | 271 | −10 | 86 |
| 6 | AT | e – Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 35 | 37 | 10 | 28 | 240 | 279 | −39 | 80 |
| 7 | ME | e – Washington Capitals | 82 | 35 | 37 | 10 | 27 | 255 | 265 | −10 | 80 |
| 8 | ME | e – Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 31 | 38 | 13 | 26 | 222 | 277 | −55 | 75 |
| 9 | AT | e – Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 31 | 45 | 6 | 21 | 232 | 307 | −75 | 68 |
| 10 | ME | e – Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 25 | 48 | 9 | 15 | 214 | 330 | −116 | 59 |

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

The regular season schedule was released on July 6, 2022.
2022–23 game log :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

## Player statistics

Final stats

### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Nick Suzuki | 82 | 26 | 40 | 66 | −13 | 33 |
| Kirby Dach | 58 | 14 | 24 | 38 | −2 | 43 |
| Cole Caufield | 46 | 26 | 10 | 36 | −10 | 2 |
| Mike Hoffman | 67 | 14 | 20 | 34 | −10 | 28 |
| Mike Matheson | 48 | 8 | 26 | 34 | +7 | 33 |
| Josh Anderson | 69 | 21 | 11 | 32 | −8 | 72 |
| Jonathan Drouin | 58 | 2 | 27 | 29 | −18 | 18 |
| Christian Dvorak | 64 | 10 | 18 | 28 | −12 | 6 |
| Rafael Harvey-Pinard | 34 | 14 | 6 | 20 | +7 | 10 |
| David Savard | 62 | 3 | 17 | 20 | −14 | 40 |
| Jake Evans | 54 | 2 | 17 | 19 | −5 | 28 |
| Kaiden Guhle | 44 | 4 | 14 | 18 | −19 | 27 |
| Evgenii Dadonov$^‡$ | 50 | 4 | 14 | 18 | −10 | 16 |
| Sean Monahan | 25 | 6 | 11 | 17 | −5 | 16 |
| Jordan Harris | 65 | 4 | 13 | 17 | −3 | 26 |
| Jesse Ylonen | 37 | 6 | 10 | 16 | −11 | 0 |
| Michael Pezzetta | 63 | 7 | 8 | 15 | −4 | 77 |
| Rem Pitlick | 46 | 6 | 9 | 15 | −15 | 22 |
| Justin Barron | 39 | 4 | 11 | 15 | −2 | 20 |
| Johnathan Kovacevic | 77 | 3 | 12 | 15 | +3 | 39 |
| Brendan Gallagher | 37 | 8 | 6 | 14 | −5 | 45 |
| Joel Armia | 43 | 7 | 7 | 14 | −7 | 22 |
| Alex Belzile | 31 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 13 |
| Arber Xhekaj | 51 | 5 | 8 | 13 | −9 | 101 |
| Joel Edmundson | 61 | 2 | 11 | 13 | −29 | 58 |
| Juraj Slafkovsky | 39 | 4 | 6 | 10 | −13 | 33 |
| Denis Gurianov$^†$ | 23 | 5 | 3 | 8 | −7 | 6 |
| Chris Tierney$^†$ | 23 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −7 | 4 |
| Chris Wideman | 46 | 0 | 6 | 6 | −6 | 81 |
| Anthony Richard | 13 | 3 | 2 | 5 | +2 | 6 |
| Lucas Condotta | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Sean Farrell | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 0 |
| Joel Teasdale | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 0 |
| Corey Schueneman | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 0 |
| Frederic Allard | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 0 |
| Owen Beck | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Jake Allen | 42 | 41 | 2,450:25 | 15 | 24 | 3 | 145 | 3.55 | 1335 | .891 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Sam Montembeault | 40 | 39 | 2,333:51 | 16 | 19 | 3 | 133 | 3.42 | 1345 | .901 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cayden Primeau | 3 | 2 | 138:35 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 3.46 | 54 | .852 | 0 | 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 |
| Josh Anderson | Boarding Golden Knights defenceman Alex Pietrangelo | 2 games | $59,459.46 | November 6, 2022 |
| Juraj Slafkovsky | Boarding Red Wings forward Matt Luff | 2 games | $10,270.28 | November 9, 2022 |
| Mike Matheson | Interference against Panthers forward Eric Staal | N/A | $5,000.00 | January 20, 2023 |
| Nick Suzuki | Cross-checking Panthers forward Anton Lundell | N/A | $2,500.00 | March 17, 2023 |

## Awards and honours
### Awards

Regular season :
| Player | Award | Awarded | Ref |
| Nick Suzuki | NHL All-Star Game selection | January 5, 2023 | |
| Nick Suzuki | NHL Second Star of the Week | March 27, 2023 | |

### Milestones

Regular Season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Kaiden Guhle | 1st career NHL game | October 12, 2022 |
| Jordan Harris | 1st career NHL assist | October 12, 2022 |
| Juraj Slafkovsky | 1st career NHL game | October 12, 2022 |
| Arber Xhekaj | 1st career NHL game | October 12, 2022 |
| Arber Xhekaj | 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | October 15, 2022 |
| Kaiden Guhle | 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | October 17, 2022 |
| Juraj Slafkovsky | 1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point | October 20, 2022 |
| Arber Xhekaj | 1st career NHL goal | October 22, 2022 |
| Kaiden Guhle | 1st career NHL goal | October 27, 2022 |
| Christian Dvorak | 1st career NHL hat-trick | October 29, 2022 |
| Nick Suzuki | 100th career NHL assist | October 29, 2022 |
| Josh Anderson | 400th career NHL game | November 5, 2022 |
| Joel Armia | 400th career NHL game | November 5, 2022 |
| Johnathan Kovacevic | 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | November 9, 2022 |
| Juraj Slafkovsky | 1st career NHL assist | November 17, 2022 |
| Cole Caufield | 100th career NHL game | December 1, 2022 |
| Johnathan Kovacevic | 1st career NHL goal | December 6, 2022 |
| Anthony Richard | 1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point | December 21, 2022 |
| Anthony Richard | 1st career NHL assist | January 3, 2023 |
| David Savard | 700th career NHL game | January 7, 2023 |
| Christian Dvorak | 400th career NHL game | January 12, 2023 |
| Kirby Dach | 200th career NHL game | January 24, 2023 |
| Rafael Harvey-Pinard | 1st career NHL assist | January 26, 2023 |
| Owen Beck | 1st career NHL game | January 28, 2023 |
| Alex Belzile | 1st career NHL goal | February 12, 2023 |
| Christian Dvorak | 200th career NHL point | February 12, 2023 |
| Rem Pitlick | 100th career NHL game | February 16, 2023 |
| Mike Matheson | 100th career NHL assist | February 21, 2023 |
| Josh Anderson | 200th career NHL point | March 13, 2023 |
| David Savard | 200th career NHL point | March 13, 2023 |
| Jonathan Drouin | 200th career NHL assist | March 14, 2023 |
| Joel Edmundson | 100th career NHL point | March 14, 2023 |
| Michael Pezzetta | 100th career NHL game | March 14, 2023 |
| Nick Suzuki | 200th career NHL point | March 23, 2023 |
| Rafael Harvey-Pinard | 1st career NHL hat-trick | March 25, 2023 |
| Brendan Gallagher | 200th career NHL goal | March 27, 2023 |
| Sean Farrell | 1st career NHL game | March 28, 2023 |
| Sean Farrell | 1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point | March 30, 2023 |
| Sam Montembeault | 100th career NHL game | April 6, 2023 |
| Joel Teasdale | 1st career NHL game | April 12, 2023 |
| Lucas Condotta | 1st career NHL game 1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point | April 13, 2023 |
| Joel Teasdale | 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | April 13, 2023 |

## Transactions

The Canadiens have been involved in the following transactions during the 2022–23 season.

### Key

† Contract is entry-level. ‡  Contract initially takes effect in the 2023-24 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| July 7, 2022 (2022-07-07) | To New York IslandersAlexander Romanov 4th-round pick in 2022 | To Montreal Canadiens1st-round pick in 2022 |
| July 7, 2022 (2022-07-07) | To Chicago Blackhawks NYI's 1st-round pick in 2022 3rd-round pick in 2022 | To Montreal CanadiensKirby Dach |
| July 8, 2022 (2022-07-08) | To Vegas Golden KnightsTBL's 4th-round pick in 2022$^1$ | To Montreal Canadiens4th-round pick in 2023 |
| July 16, 2022 (2022-07-16) | To Pittsburgh PenguinsJeff Petry Ryan Poehling | To Montreal CanadiensMike Matheson 4th-round pick in 2023 |
| August 18, 2022 (2022-08-18) | To Calgary FlamesFuture considerations | To Montreal CanadiensSean Monahan Conditional 1st-round pick in 2024, 2025, or 2026$^2$ Conditional 3rd-round pick in 2025$^3$ Conditional 4th-round pick in 2025$^4$ |
| October 26, 2022 (2022-10-26) | To Chicago BlackhawksCam Hillis | To Montreal CanadiensNicolas Beaudin |
| February 26, 2023 (2023-02-26) | To Dallas StarsEvgenii Dadonov$^5$ | To Montreal CanadiensDenis Gurianov |
| March 3, 2023 (2023-03-03) | To Los Angeles KingsNate Schnarr | To Montreal CanadiensFrederic Allard |
| March 3, 2023 (2023-03-03) | To Pittsburgh PenguinsNick Bonino (via SJS)$^6$ | To Montreal CanadiensTony Sund (via SJS) SJS's 5th-round pick in 2024 (via SJS) |
| March 3, 2023 (2023-03-03) | To San Jose SharksArvid Henrikson (via MTL) PIT's 7th-round pick in 2023 (via PIT) Conditional 5th-round pick in 2024 (via PIT)$^7$ | To Montreal CanadiensTony Sund (via SJS) SJS's 5th-round pick in 2024 (via SJS) |
| June 27, 2023 (2023-06-27) | To Colorado AvalancheGianni Fairbrother FLA's 1st-round pick in 2023$^8$ 2nd-round pick in 2023 | To Montreal CanadiensAlex Newhook |

#### Notes

* The Tampa Bay Lightning's fourth-round pick went to the Vegas Golden Knights as the result of a trade on July 8, 2022, that sent a fourth-round pick in 2023 to Montreal in exchange for this pick.
    Montreal previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on July 24, 2021, that sent Vegas' fourth-round pick in 2021 (126th overall) to Tampa Bay in exchange for this pick.
* Montreal will have the option to receive Calgary's first-round pick in 2024 if this pick is outside of the top 20. If Montreal declines to exercise this option or Calgary's first-round pick in 2024 is within the top 20, they will receive one of Calgary or Florida's first-round picks in 2025 or 2026. If both Calgary and Florida's first-round picks in 2025 are outside of the top 10, Montreal will receive the earlier of the two. If Calgary's first-round pick in 2025 is in the top 10 and Florida's is outside, Montreal will receive Florida's first-round pick in 2025; if Florida's first-round pick in 2025 is in the top 10 and Calgary's outside, Montreal will receive Calgary's first-round pick in 2025. If both Calgary and Florida's first-round picks in 2025 are within the top 10, Montreal will receive Calgary's first-round pick, unless said pick is the first-overall selection in 2025; if so, Montreal will instead receive the earlier of Calgary or Florida's first-round picks in 2026.
* Montreal will receive Calgary's third-round pick in 2025 if Calgary's first-round pick in 2025 is the first-overall selection and Florida's first-round pick in 2025 is in the top 10 selections; otherwise no pick will be exchanged.
* Montreal will receive Calgary's fourth-round pick in 2025 if both Calgary and Florida's first-round selections in 2025 are outside of the top 10, Florida's draft position is better than Calgary's, and the rights to Florida's first-round pick in 2025 are with another team; otherwise no pick will be exchanged.
* The Canadiens will retain 50% of Dadonov's remaining salary until the end of the current season.
* The Canadiens will retain 50% of Bonino's remaining salary until the end of the current season.
* San Jose will receive Pittsburgh's fourth-round pick in 2024 should the Penguins reach the 2023 Eastern Conference final – was not converted from a fifth-round selection when the Penguins were eliminated from playoff contention on April 12, 2023.
* Montreal previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on March 16, 2022, that sent Ben Chiarot to Florida in exchange for Ty Smilanic, a conditional fourth-round pick in 2022 and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade). The condition – Montreal will receive a first-round pick in 2023 if Florida's first-round pick in 2022 is outside of the top 10 – was converted when the Panthers qualified for the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs on April 3, 2022.

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team (League) | Term | Via |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Madison Bowey | Vancouver Canucks | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Anthony Richard | Nashville Predators | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Mitchell Stephens | Detroit Red Wings | 1-year | Free agency |
| October 8, 2022 (2022-10-08) | Johnathan Kovacevic | Winnipeg Jets | | Waivers |
| February 23, 2023 (2023-02-23) | Chris Tierney | Florida Panthers | | Waivers |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team (League) | Term | Via |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Louie Belpedio | Philadelphia Flyers | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Kale Clague | Buffalo Sabres | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Laurent Dauphin | Arizona Coyotes | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Xavier Ouellet | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 14, 2022 (2022-07-14) | Jean-Sebastien Dea | Arizona Coyotes | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 25, 2022 (2022-07-25) | William Lagesson | Carolina Hurricanes | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 29, 2022 (2022-07-29) | Sami Niku | JYP (Liiga) | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 12, 2022 (2022-08-12) | Josh Brook | Calgary Wranglers (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 16, 2022 (2022-08-16) | Cedric Paquette | HC Dinamo Minsk (KHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| September 8, 2022 (2022-09-08) | Mathieu Perreault | | | Retirement |
| October 25, 2022 (2022-10-25) | Tyler Pitlick | St. Louis Blues | 1-year | Free agency |
| February 8, 2023 (2023-02-08) | Lukas Vejdemo | Djurgårdens IF (HockeyAllsvenskan) | 1-year | Free agency |
| May 9, 2023 (2023-05-09) | Frederic Allard | Luleå HF (SHL) | 2-year | Free agency |
| May 10, 2023 (2023-05-10) | Otto Leskinen | Tappara (Liiga) | 2-year | Free agency |
| June 5, 2023 (2023-06-05) | Tony Sund | HIFK (Liiga) | 1-year | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term |
| July 11, 2022 (2022-07-11) | Michael Pezzetta | 1-year |
| July 11, 2022 (2022-07-11) | Corey Schueneman | 1-year |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Alex Belzile | 1-year |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Nate Schnarr | 1-year |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Juraj Slafkovsky | 3-year$^†$ |
| July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13) | Joel Teasdale | 1-year |
| July 14, 2022 (2022-07-14) | Filip Mesar | 3-year$^†$ |
| July 16, 2022 (2022-07-16) | Rem Pitlick | 2-year |
| July 18, 2022 (2022-07-18) | Sam Montembeault | 2-year |
| September 7, 2022 (2022-09-07) | Kirby Dach | 4-year |
| September 8, 2022 (2022-09-08) | Cayden Primeau | 3-year |
| October 1, 2022 (2022-10-01) | Jake Allen | 2-year$^‡$ |
| October 4, 2022 (2022-10-04) | Owen Beck | 3-year$^†$ |
| October 5, 2022 (2022-10-05) | Logan Mailloux | 3-year$^†$ |
| October 14, 2022 (2022-10-14) | William Trudeau | 3-year$^†$ |
| February 10, 2023 (2023-02-10) | Jordan Harris | 2-year$^‡$ |
| March 1, 2023 (2023-03-01) | Xavier Simoneau | 2-year$^{†‡}$ |
| March 15, 2023 (2023-03-15) | Jayden Struble | 2-year$^{†‡}$ |
| March 26, 2023 (2023-03-26) | Sean Farrell | 3-year$^†$ |
| March 31, 2023 (2023-03-31) | Jakub Dobes | 2-year$^{†‡}$ |
| June 2, 2023 (2023-06-02) | Michael Pezzetta | 2-year$^‡$ |
| June 5, 2023 (2023-06-05) | Cole Caufield | 8-year$^‡$ |
| June 20, 2023 (2023-06-20) | Sean Monahan | 1-year$^‡$ |

## Draft picks

Below are the Montreal Canadiens' selections at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on July 7–8, 2022, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec.
| Round | # | Player | Pos. | Nationality | Team (League) |
| 1 | 1 | Juraj Slafkovsky | LW | Slovakia | TPS (Liiga) |
| 1 | 26$^1$ | Filip Mesar | RW | Slovakia | HK Poprad (Tipos Extraliga) |
| 2 | 36 | Owen Beck | C | Canada | Mississauga Steelheads (OHL) |
| 2 | 62$^2$ | Lane Hutson | D | United States | U.S. NTDP (USHL) |
| 3 | 75$^3$ | Vinzenz Rohrer | C | Austria | Ottawa 67's (OHL) |
| 3 | 92$^4$ | Adam Engstrom | D | Sweden | Djurgårdens IF (SHL) |
| 4 | 127$^5$ | Cedrick Guindon | LW | Canada | Owen Sound Attack (OHL) |
| 5 | 130 | Jared Davidson | C | Canada | Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) |
| 6 | 162 | Emmett Croteau | G | Canada | Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL) |
| 7 | 194 | Petteri Nurmi | D | Finland | HPK (Liiga) |
| 7 | 216$^6$ | Miguel Tourigny | D | Canada | Acadie-Bathurst Titan (QMJHL) |