# 2020–21 Montreal Canadiens season

The 2020–21 Montreal Canadiens season was the 112th for the club that was established on December 4, 1909, and their 104th season as a franchise in the National Hockey League.
Due to the Canada–U.S. border restrictions brought in as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canadiens were re-aligned with the other six Canadian franchises into the newly formed North Division. The league's 56 game season was played entirely within the new divisions, meaning that Montreal and the other Canadian teams played an all-Canadian schedule for the 2020–21 regular season as well as the first two rounds of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs.
On May 10, 2021, the Canadiens clinched a playoff berth after a 4–3 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers. In the first round, the Canadiens successfully overcame a 3–1 series deficit to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games. In the second round, the Canadiens swept the Winnipeg Jets in four games. Since they were the lowest-remaining team from the second round, they played against the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup semifinals, defeating them in six games. The Canadiens won the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl and advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1993, subsequently ending a 10-year Canadian team Finals appearance drought, the Vancouver Canucks (in 2011) being the previous team to reach such juncture. In the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Canadiens lost the first three games of the series, finally earning a win in game four. However, the Canadiens were defeated in five games.

## Standings
### Divisional standings

North Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | y – Toronto Maple Leafs | 56 | 35 | 14 | 7 | 29 | 187 | 148 | +39 | 77 |
| 2 | x – Edmonton Oilers | 56 | 35 | 19 | 2 | 31 | 183 | 154 | +29 | 72 |
| 3 | x – Winnipeg Jets | 56 | 30 | 23 | 3 | 24 | 170 | 154 | +16 | 63 |
| 4 | x – Montreal Canadiens | 56 | 24 | 21 | 11 | 20 | 159 | 168 | −9 | 59 |
| 5 | e – Calgary Flames | 56 | 26 | 27 | 3 | 22 | 156 | 161 | −5 | 55 |
| 6 | e – Ottawa Senators | 56 | 23 | 28 | 5 | 18 | 157 | 190 | −33 | 51 |
| 7 | e – Vancouver Canucks | 56 | 23 | 29 | 4 | 17 | 151 | 188 | −37 | 50 |

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

The regular season schedule was published on December 23, 2020.
2020–21 game log :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2021 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Tyler Toffoli | 52 | 28 | 16 | 44 | 0 | 24 |
| Jeff Petry | 55 | 12 | 30 | 42 | +6 | 20 |
| Nick Suzuki | 56 | 15 | 26 | 41 | −5 | 26 |
| Tomas Tatar | 50 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 0 | 8 |
| Josh Anderson | 52 | 17 | 7 | 24 | −10 | 38 |
| Phillip Danault | 53 | 5 | 19 | 24 | +9 | 24 |
| Brendan Gallagher | 35 | 14 | 9 | 23 | +10 | 16 |
| Jonathan Drouin | 44 | 2 | 21 | 23 | −8 | 20 |
| Corey Perry | 49 | 9 | 12 | 21 | −4 | 39 |
| Jesperi Kotkaniemi | 56 | 5 | 15 | 20 | −1 | 12 |
| Shea Weber | 48 | 6 | 13 | 19 | −4 | 33 |
| Paul Byron | 46 | 5 | 11 | 16 | +5 | 12 |
| Joel Armia | 41 | 7 | 7 | 14 | +10 | 10 |
| Artturi Lehkonen | 47 | 7 | 6 | 13 | −2 | 6 |
| Joel Edmundson | 55 | 3 | 10 | 13 | +28 | 25 |
| Jake Evans | 47 | 3 | 10 | 13 | +2 | 29 |
| Brett Kulak | 46 | 2 | 6 | 8 | +3 | 20 |
| Ben Chiarot | 41 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −16 | 50 |
| Alexander Romanov | 54 | 1 | 5 | 6 | +1 | 21 |
| Cole Caufield | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | −1 | 2 |
| Eric Staal$^†$ | 21 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −10 | 2 |
| Victor Mete | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | +3 | 6 |
| Erik Gustafsson$^†$ | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | +1 | 0 |
| Alex Belzile | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 0 |
| Xavier Ouellet | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| Otto Leskinen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michael Frolik | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 0 |
| Jon Merrill$^†$ | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −11 | 4 |
| Jesse Ylonen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Nick Suzuki | 22 | 7 | 9 | 16 | −6 | 2 |
| Tyler Toffoli | 22 | 5 | 9 | 14 | −6 | 6 |
| Cole Caufield | 20 | 4 | 8 | 12 | −5 | 0 |
| Corey Perry | 22 | 4 | 6 | 10 | −5 | 25 |
| Jesperi Kotkaniemi | 19 | 5 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 14 |
| Joel Armia | 21 | 5 | 3 | 8 | −1 | 10 |
| Eric Staal | 21 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 6 |
| Josh Anderson | 22 | 5 | 1 | 6 | −1 | 12 |
| Paul Byron | 22 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 10 |
| Brendan Gallagher | 22 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| Shea Weber | 22 | 1 | 5 | 6 | +4 | 28 |
| Jeff Petry | 20 | 0 | 6 | 6 | −2 | 6 |
| Joel Edmundson | 22 | 0 | 6 | 6 | −3 | 10 |
| Artturi Lehkonen | 17 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −1 | 4 |
| Phillip Danault | 22 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 6 |
| Erik Gustafsson | 16 | 1 | 2 | 3 | +3 | 0 |
| Ben Chiarot | 22 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −6 | 16 |
| Jake Evans | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | +3 | 4 |
| Alexander Romanov | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 0 |
| Brett Kulak | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 4 |
| Tomas Tatar | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 2 |
| Jon Merrill | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 0 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Carey Price | 25 | 25 | 1,478:45 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 65 | 2.64 | 659 | .901 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jake Allen | 29 | 27 | 1,702:36 | 11 | 12 | 5 | 76 | 2.68 | 817 | .907 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Cayden Primeau | 4 | 4 | 201:54 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 4.16 | 93 | .849 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Carey Price | 22 | 22 | 1,341:38 | 13 | 9 | 51 | 2.28 | 673 | .924 | 1 | 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 |
| Joel Edmundson | Dangerous trip against Leafs forward John Tavares | N/A | $1,000.00 | May 9, 2021 |
| Shea Weber | Cross-checking Leafs forward Wayne Simmonds | N/A | $5,000.00 | May 23, 2021 |
| Shea Weber | Slashing Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov | N/A | $5,000.00 | June 29, 2021 |

## Awards and honours
### Awards

Regular season :
| Player | Award | Awarded | Ref |
| Tyler Toffoli | NHL First Star of the Week | January 25, 2021 | |
| Jeff Petry | NHL Third Star of the Week | February 8, 2021 | |

### Milestones

Regular Season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Alexander Romanov | 1st career NHL game 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | January 13, 2021 |
| Alexander Romanov | 1st career NHL goal | January 18, 2021 |
| Joel Armia | 300th career NHL game | January 21, 2021 |
| Artturi Lehkonen | 300th career NHL game | February 1, 2021 |
| Corey Perry | 800th career NHL point | February 1, 2021 |
| Shea Weber | 1000th career NHL game | February 2, 2021 |
| Paul Byron | 100th career NHL assist | February 25, 2021 |
| Jeff Petry | 700th career NHL game | February 27, 2021 |
| Tomas Tatar | 600th career NHL game | March 11, 2021 |
| Carey Price | 700th career NHL game | March 15, 2021 |
| Nick Suzuki | 100th career NHL game | March 17, 2021 |
| Jake Allen | 300th career NHL game | March 19, 2021 |
| Jeff Petry | 200th career NHL assist | March 19, 2021 |
| Josh Anderson | 300th career NHL game | April 7, 2021 |
| Ben Chiarot | 400th career NHL game | April 16, 2021 |
| Tomas Tatar | 200th career NHL assist | April 21, 2021 |
| Cole Caufield | 1st career NHL game | April 26, 2021 |
| Cole Caufield | 1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point | May 1, 2021 |
| Jon Merrill | 400th career NHL game | May 3, 2021 |
| Alex Belzile | 1st career NHL game 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | May 8, 2021 |
| Paul Byron | 200th career NHL point | May 10, 2021 |
| Cole Caufield | 1st career NHL assist | May 12, 2021 |
| Jesse Ylonen | 1st career NHL game | May 12, 2021 |
Playoffs :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Cole Caufield | 1st career playoff game | May 24, 2021 |
| Cole Caufield | 1st career playoff assist 1st career playoff point | May 27, 2021 |
| Corey Perry | 100th career playoff point | May 27, 2021 |
| Jake Evans | 1st career playoff goal | June 2, 2021 |
| Erik Gustafsson | 1st career playoff goal | June 7, 2021 |
| Alexander Romanov | 1st career playoff game | June 7, 2021 |
| Cole Caufield | 1st career playoff goal | June 14, 2021 |
| Ben Chiarot | 1st career playoff goal | June 28, 2021 |
| Alexander Romanov | 1st career playoff goal 1st career playoff point | July 5, 2021 |

## Transactions

The Canadiens had been involved in the following transactions during the 2020–21 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| October 6, 2020 (2020-10-06) | To Columbus Blue JacketsMax Domi 3rd-round pick in 2020 | To Montreal CanadiensJosh Anderson |
| October 7, 2020 (2020-10-07) | To Tampa Bay LightningSTL 2nd-round pick in 2020$^1$ | To Montreal Canadiens4th-round pick in 2020 2nd-round pick in 2021 |
| October 7, 2020 (2020-10-07) | To San Jose SharksANA 4th-round pick in 2020$^2$ | To Montreal CanadiensWSH 3rd-round pick in 2021$^3$ |
| October 7, 2020 (2020-10-07) | To Chicago BlackhawksOTT 7th-round pick in 2020$^4$ | To Montreal CanadiensMTL 7th-round pick in 2021$^5$ |
| March 26, 2021 (2021-03-26) | To Buffalo Sabres3rd-round pick in 2021 5th-round pick in 2021 | To Montreal CanadiensEric Staal$^6$ |
| April 11, 2021 (2021-04-11) | To Detroit Red WingsHayden Verbeek 5th-round pick in 2021 | To Montreal CanadiensJon Merrill |
| April 12, 2021 (2021-04-12) | To Philadelphia Flyers7th-round pick in 2022 | To Montreal CanadiensErik Gustafsson$^7$ |

#### Notes

* The St. Louis Blues' second-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on October 7, 2020, that sent a fourth-round pick in 2020 (124th overall) and a second-round pick in 2021 to Montreal in exchange for this pick.
    Montreal previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 18, 2020, that sent Marco Scandella to St. Louis in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick in 2021 and this pick.
* The Anaheim Ducks' fourth-round pick went to the San Jose Sharks as the result of a trade on October 7, 2020, that sent Washington's third-round pick in 2021 to Montreal in exchange for this pick.
    Montreal previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 30, 2019, that sent Nicolas Deslauriers to Anaheim in exchange for this pick.
* The Washington Capitals' third-round pick went to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a trade on October 7, 2020, that sent Anaheim's fourth-round pick in 2020 (98th overall) to San Jose in exchange for this pick.
    San Jose previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 18, 2020, that sent Brenden Dillon to Washington in exchange for Colorado's second-round pick in 2020 and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade). The condition—San Jose will receive a third-round pick in 2021 if Washington does not win the Stanley Cup in 2020—was converted when Washington was eliminated from the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs on August 20, 2020.
* The Ottawa Senators' seventh-round pick went to the Chicago Blackhawks as the result of a trade on October 7, 2020, that sent Montreal's seventh-round pick in 2021 to Montreal in exchange for this pick.
    Montreal previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 24, 2020, that sent Matthew Peca to Ottawa in exchange for Aaron Luchuk and this pick.
* The Montreal Canadiens' seventh-round pick went Arizona Coyotes as the result of a trade on July 24, 2021, that sent St. Louis' seventh-round pick in 2022 to Montreal in exchange for this pick.
    Montreal previously re-acquired this pick as the result of a trade on October 7, 2020, that sent Ottawa's seventh-round pick in 2020 to Chicago in exchange for this pick.
    Chicago previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 30, 2019, that sent second and seventh-round picks both in 2020 and a third-round pick in 2021 to Montreal in exchange for Andrew Shaw and this pick.
* The Buffalo Sabres will retain 50% of Staal's salary for the remainder of the 2020–21 season.
* The Philadelphia Flyers will retain 50% of Gustafsson's salary for the remainder of the 2020–21 season.

### Contract terminations

| Date | Player | Via | Ref |
| October 6, 2020 (2020-10-06) | Karl Alzner | Unconditional waivers | |
| December 31, 2020 (2020-12-31) | Alexandre Alain | Mutual termination | |

### Waivers

| Date | Player | Team | Ref |
| January 11, 2021 (2021-01-11) | Noah Juulsen | to Florida Panthers | |
| April 12, 2021 (2021-04-12) | Victor Mete | to Ottawa Senators | |

### Free agents

| Date | Player | Team | Contract term |
| October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) | Brandon Baddock | from New Jersey Devils | 1-year |
| October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) | Max Friberg | to Frolunda HC (SHL) | 3-year |
| October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) | Keith Kinkaid | to New York Rangers | 2-year |
| October 12, 2020 (2020-10-12) | Tyler Toffoli | from Vancouver Canucks | 4-year |
| November 23, 2020 (2020-11-23) | Aaron Luchuk | to Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL) | 1-year |
| November 27, 2020 (2020-11-27) | Antoine Waked | to Indy Fuel (ECHL) | 1-year |
| December 23, 2020 (2020-12-23) | Michael Frolik | from Buffalo Sabres | 1-year |
| December 28, 2020 (2020-12-28) | Corey Perry | from Dallas Stars | 1-year |
| December 30, 2020 (2020-12-30) | Christian Folin | to Vaxjo Lakers (SHL) | 1-year |
| January 4, 2021 (2021-01-04) | Andrew Sturtz | to Rapid City Rush (ECHL) | 1-year |
| April 2, 2021 (2021-04-02) | Corey Schueneman | from Laval Rocket (AHL) | 1-year |
| May 19, 2021 (2021-05-19) | Vasili Demchenko | to Avangard Omsk (KHL) | 1-year |
| June 15, 2021 (2021-06-15) | Otto Leskinen | to Jokerit (KHL) | 2-year |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Contract term |
| September 30, 2020 (2020-09-30) | Michael McNiven | 1-year |
| October 8, 2020 (2020-10-08) | Noah Juulsen | 1-year |
| October 8, 2020 (2020-10-08) | Josh Anderson | 7-year |
| October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) | Victor Mete | 1-year |
| October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) | Xavier Ouellet | 2-year |
| October 14, 2020 (2020-10-14) | Jake Allen | 2-year |
| October 14, 2020 (2020-10-14) | Brendan Gallagher | 6-year |
| October 20, 2020 (2020-10-20) | Kaiden Guhle | 3-year |
| March 1, 2021 (2021-03-01) | Gianni Fairbrother | 3-year |
| March 27, 2021 (2021-03-27) | Cole Caufield | 3-year |
| April 6, 2021 (2021-04-06) | Jan Mysak | 3-year |
| May 12, 2021 (2021-05-12) | Rafael Harvey-Pinard | 2-year |
| June 3, 2021 (2021-06-03) | Mattias Norlinder | 3-year |
| June 19, 2021 (2021-06-19) | Lukas Vejdemo | 1-year |
| June 21, 2021 (2021-06-21) | Laurent Dauphin | 1-year |
| June 27, 2021 (2021-06-27) | Brandon Baddock | 1-year |

## Draft picks

Below are the Montreal Canadiens' selections at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, which was held virtually via video conference call from the NHL Network studio in Secaucus, New Jersey on October 6–7, 2020. Originally scheduled for June 26–27, 2020 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, the draft was subsequently postponed on March 25, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and moved to such format hereafter.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 16 | Kaiden Guhle | D | Canada | Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) |
| 2 | 47 | Luke Tuch | LW | United States | U.S. National Team Development Program (USHL) |
| 2 | 48$^1$ | Jan Mysak | C | Czech Republic | Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL) |
| 4 | 102$^2$ | Jack Smith | C | United States | St. Cloud Cathedral (USHS-MN) |
| 4 | 109 | Blake Biondi | C | United States | Hermantown High School (USHS-MN) |
| 4 | 124$^3$ | Sean Farrell | LW | United States | Chicago Steel (USHL) |
| 5 | 136$^4$ | Jakub Dobes | G | Czech Republic | Omaha Lancers (USHL) |
| 6 | 171 | Alexander Gordin | RW | Russia | SKA-1946 (MHL) |