# 2012–13 Montreal Canadiens season

The 2012–13 Montreal Canadiens season was the 104th season of play for the franchise that was founded on December 4, 1909, and its 96th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The regular season was reduced from its usual 82 games to 48 due to a lockout.

## Off-season

After a disappointing 2011–12 season, the Canadiens started over in the front office. Marc Bergevin was named the new general manager on May 2, 2012. Rick Dudley was then named as the assistant general manager. The search then began for a new head coach and on June 5, Michel Therrien was named the new head coach. This would be Therrien's second stint as the Canadiens head coach (previously coached team from 2000 to 2003) Scott Mellanby was hired as the director of player personnel and Randy Cunneyworth and Randy Ladouceur were relieved of their assistant coaching duties. Some other hockey operations changes included the hiring of Martin Lapointe as director of player development, Patrice Brisebois was hired as a player development coach and on June 15, Gerard Gallant, J. J. Daigneault and Clement Jodoin were added to Montreal's coaching staff as assistant coaches.
Montreal held the third overall pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and selected Alex Galchenyuk from the Sarnia Sting.
2012–13 Cancelled Games (For reference only) :
Preseason
#DateVisitorHome
1September 23OttawaMontreal
2September 24BuffaloMontreal
3September 27MontrealOttawa
4October 2MontrealCarolina
5October 3CarolinaMontreal
6October 6BostonMontreal
7October 7New JerseyMontreal :
October
#DateVisitorHome
1October 11OttawaMontreal
2October 13MontrealToronto
3October 16BostonMontreal
4October 18MontrealBoston
5October 20WashingtonMontreal
6October 23MontrealMinnesota
7October 25PhiladelphiaMontreal
8October 27AnaheimMontreal
9October 30MontrealCalgary :
November
#DateVisitorHome
10November 1MontrealEdmonton
11November 3MontrealVancouver
12November 6PhoenixMontreal
13November 8WinnipegMontreal
14November 10NY RangersMontreal
15November 13CalgaryMontreal
16November 15MontrealWinnipeg
17November 17MontrealColorado
18November 19NashvilleMontreal
19November 20MontrealNew Jersey
20November 24VancouverMontreal
21November 27Tampa BayMontreal :
December
#DateVisitorHome
22December 1TorontoMontreal
23December 2MontrealColumbus
24December 4ChicagoMontreal
25December 6MontrealBuffalo
26December 8BuffaloMontreal
27December 10CarolinaMontreal
28December 12MontrealNY Rangers
29December 13Los AngelesMontreal
30December 15MontrealBuffalo
31December 17BuffaloMontreal
32December 19MontrealOttawa
33December 20MontrealWashington
34December 22MontrealToronto
35December 27MontrealTampa Bay
36December 28MontrealFlorida
37December 31MontrealCarolina :
January
#DateVisitorHome
38January 3New JerseyMontreal
39January 5TorontoMontreal
40January 8FloridaMontreal
41January 10MontrealPhiladelphia
42January 12MontrealDallas
43January 13MontrealSt. Louis
44January 16PittsburghMontreal
45January 18MontrealPittsburgh
46January 19BostonMontreal
47January 22Tampa BayMontreal
48January 29EdmontonMontreal
49January 30MontrealDetroit :
February
#DateVisitorHome
50February 2NY IslandersMontreal
51February 3OttawaMontreal
52February 6CarolinaMontreal
53February 8MontrealPittsburgh
54February 9TorontoMontreal
55February 12MontrealNY Islanders
56February 15MontrealBuffalo
57February 17MontrealWinnipeg
58February 19San JoseMontreal
59February 20MontrealNY Rangers
60February 23PittsburghMontreal
61February 25MontrealOttawa
62February 28BostonMontreal :
March
#DateVisitorHome
63March 2NY IslandersMontreal
64March 4MontrealBoston
65March 7MontrealWashington
66March 9MontrealTampa Bay
67March 10MontrealFlorida
68March 13OttawaMontreal
69March 15MontrealPhiladelphia
70March 16MontrealNew Jersey
71March 19MontrealOttawa
72March 21New JerseyMontreal
73March 23MontrealNY Islanders
74March 26WinnipegMontreal
75March 27MontrealWinnipeg
76March 30NY RangersMontreal :
April
#DateVisitorHome
77April 2PhiladelphiaMontreal
78April 4WashingtonMontreal
79April 6BuffaloMontreal
80April 9FloridaMontreal
81April 12MontrealCarolina
82April 13MontrealToronto :

## Regular season

The Canadiens had the most power-play opportunities during the regular season, with 207. They also tied the Tampa Bay Lightning for the fewest shorthanded goals scored, with zero.

## Standings

Northeast Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | y – Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 29 | 14 | 5 | 26 | 149 | 126 | +23 | 63 |
| 2 | x – Boston Bruins | 48 | 28 | 14 | 6 | 24 | 131 | 109 | +22 | 62 |
| 3 | x – Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 26 | 17 | 5 | 26 | 145 | 133 | +12 | 57 |
| 4 | x – Ottawa Senators | 48 | 25 | 17 | 6 | 21 | 116 | 104 | +12 | 56 |
| 5 | Buffalo Sabres | 48 | 21 | 21 | 6 | 14 | 125 | 143 | −18 | 48 |
Eastern Conference :
| Pos | Div | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | AT | z – Pittsburgh Penguins | 48 | 36 | 12 | 0 | 33 | 165 | 119 | +46 | 72 |
| 2 | NE | y – Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 29 | 14 | 5 | 26 | 149 | 126 | +23 | 63 |
| 3 | SE | y – Washington Capitals | 48 | 27 | 18 | 3 | 24 | 149 | 130 | +19 | 57 |
| 4 | NE | x – Boston Bruins | 48 | 28 | 14 | 6 | 24 | 131 | 109 | +22 | 62 |
| 5 | NE | x – Toronto Maple Leafs | 48 | 26 | 17 | 5 | 26 | 145 | 133 | +12 | 57 |
| 6 | AT | x – New York Rangers | 48 | 26 | 18 | 4 | 22 | 130 | 112 | +18 | 56 |
| 7 | NE | x – Ottawa Senators | 48 | 25 | 17 | 6 | 21 | 116 | 104 | +12 | 56 |
| 8 | AT | x – New York Islanders | 48 | 24 | 17 | 7 | 20 | 139 | 139 | 0 | 55 |
| 9 | SE | Winnipeg Jets | 48 | 24 | 21 | 3 | 22 | 128 | 144 | −16 | 51 |
| 10 | AT | Philadelphia Flyers | 48 | 23 | 22 | 3 | 22 | 133 | 141 | −8 | 49 |
| 11 | AT | New Jersey Devils | 48 | 19 | 19 | 10 | 17 | 112 | 129 | −17 | 48 |
| 12 | NE | Buffalo Sabres | 48 | 21 | 21 | 6 | 14 | 115 | 143 | −28 | 48 |
| 13 | SE | Carolina Hurricanes | 48 | 19 | 25 | 4 | 18 | 128 | 160 | −32 | 42 |
| 14 | SE | Tampa Bay Lightning | 48 | 18 | 26 | 4 | 17 | 148 | 150 | −2 | 40 |
| 15 | SE | Florida Panthers | 48 | 15 | 27 | 6 | 12 | 112 | 171 | −59 | 36 |

## Schedule and results
### Revised regular season schedule

2012–13 Schedule 29–14–5 (Home: 10–4–3; Road: 12–3–2) :
January: 4–2–0 (Home: 3–1–0; Road: 1–1–0), 8 Points
#JanTime (ET)VisitorScoreHomeLocation/AttendanceRecordPoints
1197:00 pmToronto Maple Leafs2–1Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)0–1–00
2227:30 pmFlorida Panthers1–4Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)1–1–02
3247:00 pmMontreal Canadiens4–1Washington CapitalsVerizon Center (18,506)2–1–04
4276:00 pmNew Jersey Devils3–4(OT)Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)3–1–06
5297:30 pmWinnipeg Jets3–4Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)4–1–08
6307:00 pmMontreal Canadiens1–5Ottawa SenatorsScotiabank Place (19,620)4–2–08
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = OT/SO Loss :
February: 9–2–3 (Home: 4–2–1; Road: 3–0–2), 21 Points
#FebTime (ET)VisitorScoreHomeLocation/AttendanceRecordPoints
722:00 pmBuffalo Sabres1–6Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)5–2–010
832:00 pmOttawa Senators1–2Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)6–2–012
967:30 pmBoston Bruins2–1Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)6–3–012
1077:00 pmMontreal Canadiens4–5 (SO)Buffalo SabresFirst Niagara Center (18,866)6–3–113
1197:00 pmToronto Maple Leafs6–0Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)6–4–113
12127:30 pmMontreal Canadiens4–3(SO)Tampa Bay LightningTampa Bay Times Forum (19,204)7–4–115
13147:30 pmMontreal Canadiens1–0(OT)Florida PanthersBB&T Center (17,204)8–4–117
14167:00 pmPhiladelphia Flyers1–4Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)9–4–119
15187:30 pmCarolina Hurricanes0–3Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)10–4–121
16197:00 pmMontreal Canadiens3–1New York RangersMadison Square Garden (17,200)11–4–123
17217:30 pmNew York Islanders4–3(OT)Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)11–4–224
18237:00 pmNew York Rangers0–3Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)12–4–226
19257:30 pmMontreal Canadiens1–2(SO)Ottawa SenatorsScotiabank Place (19,218)12–4–327
20277:30 pmMontreal Canadiens5–2Toronto Maple LeafsAir Canada Centre (19,625)13–4–329
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = OT/SO Loss :
March: 9–3–2 (Home: 2–1–2; Road: 7–2–0), 20 Points
#MarTime (ET)VisitorScoreHomeLocation/AttendanceRecordPoints
2127:00 pmPittsburgh Penguins7–6(OT)Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)13–4–430
2237:30 pmMontreal Canadiens4–3Boston BruinsTD Garden (17,565)14–4–432
2357:00 pmMontreal Canadiens3–6New York IslandersNassau Coliseum (9,498)14–5–432
2477:00 pmMontreal Canadiens4–2Carolina HurricanesPNC Arena (16,774)15–5–434
2597:00 pmMontreal Canadiens4–3Tampa Bay LightningTampa Bay Times Forum (19,204)16–5–436
26106:00 pmMontreal Canadiens5–2Florida PanthersBB&T Center (19,189)17–5–438
27137:00 pmOttawa Senators3–4(SO)Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)18–5–440
28167:00 pmMontreal Canadiens2–1New Jersey DevilsPrudential Center (17,625)19–5–442
29197:30 pmBuffalo Sabres3–2(OT)Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)19–5–543
30217:00 pmMontreal Canadiens5–2New York IslandersNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (11,012)20–5–545
31237:00 pmBuffalo Sabres2–1Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)20–6–545
32267:00 pmMontreal Canadiens0–1Pittsburgh PenguinsConsol Energy Center (18,646)20–7–545
33277:30 pmMontreal Canadiens6–5(SO)Boston BruinsTD Garden (17,565)21–7–547
34307:00 pmNew York Rangers0–3Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)22–7–549
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = OT/SO Loss :
April: 7–7–0 (Home: 4–3–0; Road: 3–4–0), 14 Points
#AprTime (ET)VisitorScoreHomeLocation/AttendanceRecordPoints
3517:30 pmCarolina Hurricanes1–4Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)23–7–551
3637:30 pmMontreal Canadiens3–5Philadelphia FlyersWells Fargo Center (19,537)23–8–551
3747:30 pmWinnipeg Jets1–4Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)24–8–553
3867:00 pmBoston Bruins1–2Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)25–8–555
3997:30 pmWashington Capitals3–2Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)25–9–555
40117:30 pmMontreal Canadiens5–1Buffalo SabresFirst Niagara Center (19,070)26–9–557
41137:00 pmMontreal Canadiens1–5Toronto Maple LeafsAir Canada Centre (19,625)26–10–557
42157:30 pmPhiladelphia Flyers7–3Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)26–11–557
43177:00 pmMontreal Canadiens4–6Pittsburgh PenguinsConsol Energy Center (18,626)26–12–557
44187:30 pmTampa Bay Lightning2–3Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)27–12–559
45207:00 pmWashington Capitals5–1Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)27–13–559
46237:00 pmMontreal Canadiens2–3New Jersey DevilsPrudential Center (17,625)27–14–559
47258:00 pmMontreal Canadiens4–2Winnipeg JetsMTS Centre28–14–561
48277:00 pmMontreal Canadiens4–1Toronto Maple LeafsAir Canada Centre29–14–563
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = OT/SO Loss :

## Playoffs

The Montreal Canadiens entered the playoffs as the second seed in the Eastern Conference by winning the Northeast Division with 63 points. The Ottawa Senators earned 56 points during the regular season, losing the tiebreaker to the New York Rangers in regulation + overtime wins (22 to 21) to finish seventh overall in the Eastern Conference. This was the first playoff series between these two teams, and the first playoff series between teams from Montreal and Ottawa since 1928, when the Montreal Maroons defeated the original Ottawa Senators in the Canadian Division Quarterfinals. The two teams split their four-game regular season series. The Senators would defeat the Canadiens in five games.
2013 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals – Ottawa wins series 4–1
#DateTime (ET)VisitorScoreHomeLocation/AttendanceSeries
1May 27:00 pmOttawa Senators4–2Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)Senators lead 1–0
2May 37:00 pmOttawa Senators1–3Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)Series tied 1–1
3May 57:00 pmMontreal Canadiens1–6Ottawa SenatorsScotiabank Place (20,249)Senators lead 2–1
4May 77:00 pmMontreal Canadiens2–3 OTOttawa SenatorsScotiabank Place (20,500)Senators lead 3–1
5May 97:00 pmOttawa Senators6–1Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)Senators win 4–1
Legend:        = Win        = Loss :

## Player statistics

Final stats

### Skaters

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| Max Pacioretty | 44 | 15 | 24 | 39 | 8 | 28 |
| P. K. Subban | 42 | 11 | 27 | 38 | 12 | 57 |
| Tomas Plekanec | 47 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 3 | 24 |
| Andrei Markov | 48 | 10 | 20 | 30 | −9 | 14 |
| Lars Eller | 46 | 8 | 22 | 30 | 8 | 45 |
| David Desharnais | 48 | 10 | 18 | 28 | −2 | 26 |
| Brendan Gallagher | 44 | 15 | 13 | 28 | 10 | 33 |
| Alex Galchenyuk | 48 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 14 | 20 |
| Brian Gionta | 48 | 14 | 12 | 26 | 3 | 8 |
| Michael Ryder$^†$ | 27 | 10 | 11 | 21 | −2 | 8 |
| Brandon Prust | 38 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 11 | 110 |
| Raphael Diaz | 23 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 4 | 6 |
| Rene Bourque | 27 | 7 | 6 | 13 | −1 | 32 |
| Alexei Emelin | 38 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 2 | 33 |
| Francis Bouillon | 48 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 21 |
| Josh Gorges | 48 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 15 |
| Travis Moen | 45 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −4 | 32 |
| Erik Cole$^‡$ | 19 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 10 |
| Colby Armstrong | 37 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 12 |
| Tomas Kaberle | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Davis Drewiske$^†$ | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Gabriel Dumont | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 13 |
| Jeff Halpern$^†$ | 16 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −3 | 2 |
| Yannick Weber | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −1 | 2 |
| Jarred Tinordi | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| Nathan Beaulieu | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| Ryan White | 26 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 67 |
| Mike Blunden | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 4 |
| Greg Pateryn | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| Tomas Plekanec | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −5 | 2 |
| P. K. Subban | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −1 | 31 |
| Rene Bourque | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −1 | 10 |
| Alex Galchenyuk | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −4 | 0 |
| Michael Ryder | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Brendan Gallagher | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −7 | 5 |
| Brian Gionta | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 0 |
| Andrei Markov | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 0 |
| Jeff Halpern | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Brandon Prust | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 14 |
| David Desharnais | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Ryan White | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 23 |
| Jarred Tinordi | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 15 |
| Francis Bouillon | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 17 |
| Travis Moen | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 17 |
| Colby Armstrong | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 15 |
| Josh Gorges | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 4 |
| Mike Blunden | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Max Pacioretty | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Lars Eller | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gabriel Dumont | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Raphael Diaz | 5 | 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 | 39 | 38 | 2249:01 | 21 | 13 | 4 | 97 | 2.59 | 1018 | .905 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Budaj | 13 | 10 | 656:29 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 2.29 | 273 | .908 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | Totals | 48 | 2905:30 | 29 | 14 | 5 | 122 | 2.52 | 1291 | .905 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Carey Price | 4 | 4 | 239:05 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 3.26 | 123 | .894 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Budaj | 2 | 1 | 62:32 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 6.67 | 31 | .774 | 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 | Ref |
| Ryan White | Illegal check to the head of Flyers defenceman Kent Huskins | 5 games | $18,581.10 | April 17, 2013 | |

## Awards and honours
### Awards

Regular Season :
| Player | Award | Awarded |
| P. K. Subban | James Norris Memorial Trophy | June 15, 2013 |

### Milestones

Regular Season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Alex Galchenyuk | 1st Career NHL Game | January 19, 2013 |
| Alex Galchenyuk | 1st Career NHL Goal 1st Career NHL Point | January 22, 2013 |
| Brendan Gallagher | 1st Career NHL Game 1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point | January 22, 2013 |
| Brendan Gallagher | 1st Career NHL Goal | January 27, 2013 |
| Brandon Prust | 300th Career NHL Game | March 2, 2013 |
| Francis Bouillon | 700th Career NHL Game | March 7, 2013 |
| Greg Pateryn | 1st Career NHL Game | March 9, 2013 |
| Andrei Markov | 300th Career NHL Assist | March 10, 2013 |
| Gabriel Dumont | 1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point | March 13, 2013 |
| Jarred Tinordi | 1st Career NHL Game 1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point | March 16, 2013 |
| David Desharnais | 100th Career NHL Point | March 21, 2013 |
| Travis Moen | 600th Career NHL Game | March 23, 2013 |
| Nathan Beaulieu | 1st Career NHL Game | March 30, 2013 |
| Nathan Beaulieu | 1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point | April 1, 2013 |
| Carey Price | 300th Career NHL Game | April 1, 2013 |
| Jeff Halpern | 900th Career NHL Game | April 11, 2013 |
| Gabriel Dumont | 1st Career NHL Goal | April 17, 2013 |
| Lars Eller | 200th Career NHL Game | April 23, 2013 |
| P. K. Subban | 200th Career NHL Game | April 23, 2013 |
Playoffs :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Alex Galchenyuk | 1st Career Playoff Game 1st Career Playoff Assist 1st Career Playoff Point | May 2, 2013 |
| Raphael Diaz | 1st Career Playoff Game | May 2, 2013 |
| Brendan Gallagher | 1st Career Playoff Game 1st Career Playoff Goal 1st Career Playoff Point | May 2, 2013 |
| Ryan White | 1st Career Playoff Goal | May 3, 2013 |
| Gabriel Dumont | 1st Career Playoff Game | May 3, 2013 |
| Mike Blunden | 1st Career Playoff Game | May 9, 2013 |

## Transactions

The Canadiens have been involved in the following transactions during the 2012–13 season:

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| January 14, 2013 | To Florida Panthers Brendon Nash | To Montreal Canadiens Jason DeSantis |
| February 14, 2013 | To Tampa Bay Lightning Cedrick Desjardins | To Montreal Canadiens Dustin Tokarski |
| February 26, 2013 | To Dallas Stars Erik Cole | To Montreal Canadiens Michael Ryder 3rd round-pick in 2013 |
| April 2, 2013 | To Los Angeles Kings 5th round-pick in 2013 | To Montreal Canadiens Davis Drewiske |

### Player signings

| Player | Date | Contract terms |
| Steve Quailer | June 14, 2012 | 2 years, $1.3 million entry-level contract |
| Ryan White | June 26, 2012 | 1 year, $687,500 |
| Petteri Nokelainen | June 29, 2012 | 1 year, $575,000 |
| Brendon Nash | June 29, 2012 | 1 year, $575,000 |
| Travis Moen | June 29, 2012 | 4 years, $7.2 million |
| Alexei Emelin | June 30, 2012 | 2 years, $4 million |
| Mike Blunden | July 1, 2012 | 1 year, $575,000 |
| Carey Price | July 2, 2012 | 6 years, $39 million |
| Frederic St. Denis | July 5, 2012 | 1 year, $575,000 |
| Lars Eller | July 6, 2012 | 2 years, $2.65 million |
| Aaron Palushaj | July 12, 2012 | 1 year, $600,000 |
| Raphael Diaz | July 13, 2012 | 2 years, $2.45 million |
| Blake Geoffrion | July 16, 2012 | 1 year, $803,250 |
| Alex Galchenyuk | July 23, 2012 | 3 years, $2.775 million entry-level contract |
| Max Pacioretty | August 13, 2012 | 6 years, $27 million contract extension |
| P. K. Subban | January 28, 2013 | 2 years, $5.75 million |
| David Desharnais | March 15, 2013 | 4 years, $14 million contract extension |
| Darren Dietz | March 17, 2013 | 3 years, $1.995 million entry-level contract |
| Francis Bouillon | March 20, 2013 | 1 year, $1.5 million contract extension |
| Danny Kristo | April 3, 2013 | 2 years, $1.75 million entry-level contract |
| Peter Budaj | April 10, 2013 | 2 years, $2.8 million contract extension |
| Magnus Nygren | May 21, 2013 | 2 years, $1.7175 million entry-level contract |
| Sebastian Collberg | May 21, 2013 | 3 years, $2.775 million entry-level contract |
| Tim Bozon | May 30, 2013 | 3 years, $2.0275 million entry-level contract |
| Davis Drewiske | June 13, 2013 | 2 years, $1.275 million contract extension |
| Mike Blunden | June 28, 2013 | 1 year, $550,000 contract extension |

## Draft picks

Below are the Montreal Canadiens' picks at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on June 22 & 23, 2012.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 3 | Alex Galchenyuk | C | United States | Sarnia Sting (OHL) |
| 2 | 33 | Sebastian Collberg | RW | Sweden | Frolunda HC (Elitserien) |
| 2 | 51 | Dalton Thrower | D | Canada | Saskatoon Blades (WHL) |
| 3 | 64 | Tim Bozon | LW | United States | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) |
| 4 | 94 | Brady Vail | C | United States | Windsor Spitfires (OHL) |
| 5 | 122 | Charles Hudon | LW | Canada | Chicoutimi Sagueneens (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 154 | Erik Nystrom | LW | Sweden | Modo Hockey Jr. (J20 SuperElit) |