# 2018–19 Montreal Canadiens season

The 2018–19 Montreal Canadiens season was the 110th season for the franchise that was founded on December 4, 1909, and their 102nd in the National Hockey League. Despite a strong effort, the Canadiens failed to qualify for the playoffs, marking the first time that the team missed back-to-back postseasons since the 2000–01 season. Finishing the season with 96 points, the Canadiens also tied the record for most points by a non-qualifying NHL team, joining the 2014–15 Boston Bruins and the 2017–18 Florida Panthers.

## Standings

Atlantic Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | p – Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 62 | 16 | 4 | 56 | 325 | 222 | +103 | 128 |
| 2 | x – Boston Bruins | 82 | 49 | 24 | 9 | 47 | 259 | 215 | +44 | 107 |
| 3 | x – Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 46 | 28 | 8 | 46 | 286 | 251 | +35 | 100 |
| 4 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 44 | 30 | 8 | 41 | 249 | 236 | +13 | 96 |
| 5 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 36 | 32 | 14 | 33 | 267 | 280 | −13 | 86 |
| 6 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 33 | 39 | 10 | 28 | 226 | 271 | −45 | 76 |
| 7 | Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 32 | 40 | 10 | 29 | 227 | 277 | −50 | 74 |
| 8 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 29 | 47 | 6 | 29 | 242 | 302 | −60 | 64 |
Eastern Conference Wild Card :
| Pos | Div | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | ME | x – Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 46 | 29 | 7 | 44 | 245 | 223 | +22 | 99 |
| 2 | ME | x – Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 47 | 31 | 4 | 45 | 258 | 232 | +26 | 98 |
| 3 | AT | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 44 | 30 | 8 | 41 | 249 | 236 | +13 | 96 |
| 4 | AT | Florida Panthers | 82 | 36 | 32 | 14 | 33 | 267 | 280 | −13 | 86 |
| 5 | ME | Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 37 | 37 | 8 | 34 | 244 | 281 | −37 | 82 |
| 6 | ME | New York Rangers | 82 | 32 | 36 | 14 | 26 | 227 | 272 | −45 | 78 |
| 7 | AT | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 33 | 39 | 10 | 28 | 226 | 271 | −45 | 76 |
| 8 | AT | Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 32 | 40 | 10 | 29 | 227 | 277 | −50 | 74 |
| 9 | ME | New Jersey Devils | 82 | 31 | 41 | 10 | 28 | 222 | 275 | −53 | 72 |
| 10 | AT | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 29 | 47 | 6 | 29 | 242 | 302 | −60 | 64 |

## Schedule and results
### Preseason

The preseason schedule was published on June 18, 2018.

### Regular season

The regular season schedule was released on June 21, 2018.
2018–19 game log :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

## Player statistics

As of April 6, 2019

### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Max Domi | 82 | 28 | 44 | 72 | 20 | 80 |
| Tomas Tatar | 80 | 25 | 33 | 58 | 21 | 34 |
| Jonathan Drouin | 81 | 18 | 35 | 53 | −8 | 26 |
| Phillip Danault | 81 | 12 | 41 | 53 | 17 | 39 |
| Brendan Gallagher | 82 | 33 | 19 | 52 | 10 | 49 |
| Andrew Shaw | 63 | 19 | 28 | 47 | 17 | 71 |
| Jeff Petry | 82 | 13 | 33 | 46 | −5 | 28 |
| Jesperi Kotkaniemi | 79 | 11 | 23 | 34 | 1 | 26 |
| Shea Weber | 58 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 15 | 28 |
| Paul Byron | 56 | 15 | 16 | 31 | 16 | 17 |
| Artturi Lehkonen | 82 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 10 | 32 |
| Joel Armia | 57 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 0 | 14 |
| Jordie Benn | 81 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 15 | 39 |
| Brett Kulak | 57 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 12 | 31 |
| Victor Mete | 71 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 6 |
| Mike Reilly | 57 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 16 |
| Kenny Agostino$^‡$ | 36 | 2 | 9 | 11 | −1 | 26 |
| Jordan Weal$^†$ | 16 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 2 |
| Matthew Peca | 39 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −14 | 4 |
| Nate Thompson$^†$ | 25 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −4 | 0 |
| Charles Hudon | 32 | 3 | 2 | 5 | −9 | 16 |
| Nicolas Deslauriers | 48 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −12 | 22 |
| Noah Juulsen | 21 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Michael Chaput$^‡$ | 32 | 0 | 5 | 5 | −4 | 14 |
| Christian Folin$^†$ | 19 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 11 |
| Ryan Poehling | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Xavier Ouellet | 19 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −3 | 13 |
| David Schlemko$^‡$ | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −1 | 4 |
| Tomas Plekanec | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Karl Alzner | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Dale Weise$^†$ | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 4 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Carey Price | 66 | 64 | 3,880:15 | 35 | 24 | 6 | 161 | 2.49 | 1,952 | .918 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Antti Niemi | 17 | 17 | 968:48 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 61 | 3.78 | 539 | .887 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Charlie Lindgren | 1 | 1 | 65:00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4.62 | 49 | .898 | 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 |
| Max Domi | Roughing Panthers defenceman Aaron Ekblad | 5 games (all pre-season) | N/A | September 20, 2018 |
| Phillip Danault | Dangerous trip against Panthers defenceman Aaron Ekblad | N/A | $5,000.00 | December 29, 2018 |
| Carey Price | Automatic suspension for missing NHL All-Star Game | 1 game | N/A | January 7, 2019 |
| Paul Byron | Charging Panthers defenceman MacKenzie Weegar | 3 games | $18,817.20 | January 16, 2019 |

## Awards and honours
### Awards

Regular season :
| Player | Award | Awarded | Ref |
| Carey Price | NHL All-Star Game selection | January 2, 2019 | |

### Milestones

Regular season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Jesperi Kotkaniemi | 1st career NHL game 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point | October 3, 2018 |
| Max Domi | 100th career NHL assist | October 3, 2018 |
| Jonathan Drouin | 100th career NHL assist | October 13, 2018 |
| Tomas Plekanec | 1,000th career NHL game | October 17, 2018 |
| Jordie Benn | 400th career NHL game | October 23, 2018 |
| Jesperi Kotkaniemi | 1st career NHL goal | November 1, 2018 |
| Phillip Danault | 200th career NHL game | November 3, 2018 |
| David Schlemko | 400th career NHL game | November 16, 2018 |
| Andrew Shaw | 100th career NHL assist | November 24, 2018 |
| Andrew Shaw | 200th career NHL point | December 2, 2018 |
| Andrew Shaw | 100th career NHL goal | December 6, 2018 |
| Charles Hudon | 100th career NHL game | December 19, 2018 |
| Carey Price | 300th career NHL win | December 20, 2018 |
| Phillip Danault | 1st career NHL hat-trick | December 22, 2018 |
| Nicolas Deslauriers | 300th career NHL game | January 10, 2019 |
| Joel Armia | 200th career NHL game | January 10, 2019 |
| Jeff Petry | 200th career NHL point | January 14, 2019 |
| Jordie Benn | 100th career NHL point | January 15, 2019 |
| Carey Price | 600th career NHL game | February 9, 2019 |
| Shea Weber | 900th career NHL game | February 14, 2019 |
| Jonathan Drouin | 300th career NHL game | February 17, 2019 |
| Paul Byron | 400th career NHL game | February 19, 2019 |
| Artturi Lehkonen | 200th career NHL game | February 21, 2019 |
| Brendan Gallagher | 1st career NHL hat-trick | February 21, 2019 |
| Victor Mete | 100th career NHL game | February 23, 2019 |
| Andrew Shaw | 1st career NHL hat-trick | February 26, 2019 |
| Joel Armia | 1st career NHL hat-trick | March 1, 2019 |
| Shea Weber | 200th career NHL goal | March 8, 2019 |
| Jeff Petry | 600th career NHL game | March 19, 2019 |
| Max Domi | 200th career NHL point | March 23, 2019 |
| Tomas Tatar | 500th career NHL game | March 23, 2019 |
| Max Domi | 300th career NHL game | March 28, 2019 |
| Andrew Shaw | 500th career NHL game | March 28, 2019 |
| Ryan Poehling | 1st career NHL game 1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point 1st career NHL hat-trick | April 6, 2019 |

## Transactions

The Canadiens have been involved in the following transactions during the 2018–19 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 23, 2018 (2018-06-23) | To Edmonton OilersWSH's 2nd-round pick in 2018 | To Montreal Canadiens3rd-round pick in 2018 5th-round pick in 2018 |
| June 23, 2018 (2018-06-23) | To San Jose SharksEDM's 4th-round pick in 2018 | To Montreal CanadiensVGK's 4th-round pick in 2018 FLA's 5th-round pick in 2018 |
| June 23, 2018 (2018-06-23) | To Calgary FlamesWPG's 4th-round pick in 2018 | To Montreal Canadiens4th-round pick in 2019 |
| June 23, 2018 (2018-06-23) | To Chicago BlackhawksFLA's 5th-round pick in 2018 | To Montreal Canadiens5th-round pick in 2019 |
| June 23, 2018 (2018-06-23) | To Philadelphia Flyers7th-round pick in 2019 | To Montreal CanadiensMTL's 7th-round pick in 2018 |
| June 23, 2018 (2018-06-23) | To Edmonton OilersHayden Hawkey | To Montreal Canadiens5th-round pick in 2019 |
| June 30, 2018 (2018-06-30) | To Winnipeg JetsSimon Bourque | To Montreal CanadiensJoel Armia Steve Mason 7th-round pick in 2019 4th-round pick in 2020 |
| August 20, 2018 (2018-08-20) | To Calgary FlamesKerby Rychel | To Montreal CanadiensHunter Shinkaruk |
| September 10, 2018 (2018-09-10) | To Vegas Golden KnightsMax Pacioretty | To Montreal CanadiensTomas Tatar Nick Suzuki 2nd-round pick in 2019 |
| October 1, 2018 (2018-10-01) | To Calgary FlamesMatt Taormina Rinat Valiev | To Montreal CanadiensBrett Kulak |
| October 3, 2018 (2018-10-03) | To Minnesota WildWilliam Bitten | To Montreal CanadiensGustav Olofsson |
| February 9, 2019 (2019-02-09) | To Philadelphia FlyersByron Froese David Schlemko | To Montreal CanadiensChristian Folin Dale Weise |
| February 11, 2019 (2019-02-11) | To Los Angeles KingsCGY's 4th-round pick in 2019 | To Montreal CanadiensNate Thompson ARI's 5th-round pick in 2019 |
| February 25, 2019 (2019-02-25) | To Arizona CoyotesMichael Chaput | To Montreal CanadiensJordan Weal |

### Free agents

| Date | Player | Team | Contract term |
| July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01) | Kenny Agostino | from Boston Bruins | 1-year |
| July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01) | Daniel Carr | to Vegas Golden Knights | 1-year |
| July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01) | Michael Chaput | from Chicago Blackhawks | 2-year |
| July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01) | Adam Cracknell | to Toronto Maple Leafs | 1-year |
| July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01) | Zachary Fucale | to Vegas Golden Knights | 1-year |
| July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01) | Xavier Ouellet | from Detroit Red Wings | 1-year |
| July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01) | Matthew Peca | from Tampa Bay Lightning | 2-year |
| July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01) | Tomas Plekanec | from Toronto Maple Leafs | 1-year |
| July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01) | Chris Terry | to Detroit Red Wings | 2-year |
| July 3, 2018 (2018-07-03) | Jeremy Gregoire | to Milwaukee Admirals (AHL) | 1-year |
| August 21, 2018 (2018-08-21) | Tom Parisi | to Cardiff Devils (EIHL) | 1-year |
| September 21, 2018 (2018-09-21) | Joel Teasdale | from Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (QMJHL) | 3-year |
| October 10, 2018 (2018-10-10) | Logan Shaw | to San Diego Gulls (AHL) | 1-year |
| May 7, 2019 (2019-05-07) | Otto Leskinen | from KalPa (Liiga) | 2-year |
| May 24, 2019 (2019-05-24) | Alex Belzile | from Laval Rocket (AHL) | 1-year |
| June 5, 2019 (2019-06-05) | Antti Niemi | to Jokerit (KHL) | 1-year |

### Waivers

| Date | Player | Team |
| October 17, 2018 (2018-10-17) | Jacob de la Rose | to Detroit Red Wings |
| December 2, 2018 (2018-12-02) | Nikita Scherbak | to Los Angeles Kings |
| February 11, 2019 (2019-02-11) | Kenny Agostino | to New Jersey Devils |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Contract term |
| July 1, 2018 (2018-07-01) | Jesperi Kotkaniemi | 3-year |
| July 5, 2018 (2018-07-05) | Jacob de la Rose | 2-year |
| July 13, 2018 (2018-07-13) | Joel Armia | 1-year |
| July 15, 2018 (2018-07-15) | Phillip Danault | 3-year |
| August 20, 2018 (2018-08-20) | Hunter Shinkaruk | 1-year |
| September 10, 2018 (2018-09-10) | Michael McCarron | 1-year |
| September 21, 2018 (2018-09-21) | Josh Brook | 3-year |
| September 23, 2018 (2018-09-23) | Paul Byron | 4-year |
| October 4, 2018 (2018-10-04) | Cale Fleury | 3-year |
| March 31, 2019 (2019-03-31) | Ryan Poehling | 3-year |
| March 31, 2019 (2019-03-31) | Cayden Primeau | 3-year |
| April 18, 2019 (2019-04-18) | Christian Folin | 1-year |
| April 25, 2019 (2019-04-25) | Nate Thompson | 1-year |
| April 26, 2019 (2019-04-26) | Jordan Weal | 2-year |
| May 24, 2019 (2019-05-24) | Brett Kulak | 3-year |
| May 27, 2019 (2019-05-27) | Xavier Ouellet | 1-year |
| June 14, 2019 (2019-06-14) | Gustav Olofsson | 1-year |

## Draft picks

Below are the Montreal Canadiens' selections at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 22 and 23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 3 | Jesperi Kotkaniemi | C | Finland | Assat (Liiga) |
| 2 | 35 | Jesse Ylonen | RW | Finland | Espoo United (Mestis) |
| 2 | 38$^1$ | Alexander Romanov | D | Russia | Krasnaya Armiya (MHL) |
| 2 | 56$^2$ | Jacob Olofsson | C | Sweden | Timra IK (Allsvenskan) |
| 3 | 66 | Cameron Hillis | C | Canada | Guelph Storm (OHL) |
| 3 | 71$^3$ | Jordan Harris | D | United States | Kimball Union Academy (USHS) |
| 4 | 97$^4$ | Allan McShane | C | Canada | Oshawa Generals (OHL) |
| 4 | 123$^5$ | Jack Gorniak | RW | United States | West Salem High School (USHS) |
| 5 | 128 | Cole Fonstad | C | Canada | Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) |
| 5 | 133$^6$ | Samuel Houde | C | Canada | Chicoutimi Sagueneens (QMJHL) |
| 7 | 190$^7$ | Brett Stapley | C | Canada | Vernon Vipers (BCHL) |