# 2009–10 Montreal Canadiens season

The 2009–10 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 101st season of play and 93rd in the National Hockey League (NHL).
This season marked the 100th anniversary of the organization's founding in 1909. Coinciding with this, the Montreal Canadiens hosted the 2009 NHL All-Star Game at the Bell Centre on January 25, 2009 as well as the 2009 NHL Entry Draft that June leading up to the centennial anniversary of the franchise on December 4, 2009.

## Season events
### Off-season

The Canadiens announced Jacques Martin as their new head coach to replace Guy Carbonneau. Martin, the former coach and general manager of the Florida Panthers, and former coach of the Ottawa Senators and St. Louis Blues, is known for his defence-first style.
On June 20, the Canadiens announced that owner George Gillett had reached an agreement to sell his 80% share of the team, the Bell Centre and the Gillett concert promotion company to Geoffrey, Justin and Andrew Molson. This represents the third time that the hockey club will be owned by the Molson family, which owned it from 1957 to 1971 and from 1978 to 2001. The purchase price was not disclosed but was estimated at between $506 and 537 million. The deal was approved by the NHL board of governors on December 1.
At the Entry Draft, this year held in Montreal at the Bell Centre, the Canadiens made Louis Leblanc their first-round pick. The pick was notable as it was the Canadiens' first first-round pick of a francophone since the team picked Eric Chouinard in the 1998 Entry Draft. Leblanc was born in the Montreal suburb of Kirkland.
General manager Bob Gainey pursued a policy of change for the lineup. Prior to free agency, he traded for top centre Scott Gomez in a seven-player deal from the New York Rangers. In free agency, the Canadiens signed Gomez's former New Jersey linemate Brian Gionta, high-scoring Calgary Flames forward Michael Cammalleri, checking line winger Travis Moen, and three defencemen: Hal Gill from the Pittsburgh Penguins, Jaroslav Spacek from the Buffalo Sabres, and Paul Mara from the New York Rangers. Captain Saku Koivu was not offered a contract and instead signed with the Anaheim Ducks. Alexei Kovalev turned down a contract and signed with the Ottawa Senators. Mike Komisarek signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tom Kostopoulos signed with the Carolina Hurricanes.

### Regular season

For the first time in franchise history, the Canadiens enter the regular season without a captain. On October 6, 2009, the Canadiens signed defenceman Marc-Andre Bergeron due to early injuries to Andrei Markov.
On December 28, 2009, forward Michael Cammalleri scored the 20,000th goal in franchise history in a game against the Ottawa Senators.
On February 8, general manager Bob Gainey announced his retirement as general manager of the club, staying on as advisor to the club. Assistant general manager Pierre Gauthier became the interim general manager. Gauthier and head coach Jacques Martin held the same positions with the Ottawa Senators in the late 1990s.
The Canadiens finished the regular season with the fewest power-play opportunities of all 30 teams with 261.

### Playoffs

In the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, the Canadiens faced the winners of the 2009–10 Presidents' Trophy, the Washington Capitals, who had led the league with the most goals scored during the regular season (318) and the most points (121). Despite trailing 3–1 after the first four games, the Canadiens won the final three, holding the Capitals to three goals. Montreal went 3–1 on the road in the series.
In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, the Canadiens faced the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Once again, the Canadiens found themselves trailing, this time 3–2. After edging the Penguins 4–3 at home in Game 6, the Canadiens jumped out to a 4–0 lead in Game 7 on the road and would go on to win by a final score of 5–2, thereby clinching the series 4–3.
In the Eastern Conference Final against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Canadiens were shut out by scores of 6–0 and 3–0 in the first two games. They came back and won Game 3 at home by a score of 5–1. Game 4 was scoreless until 5:41 of the second period, when Flyers forward Claude Giroux scored his seventh of the playoffs on an assist from Kimmo Timonen. Ville Leino would score at 14:53 of the same period and Giroux would seal the win with an empty-net goal with 1:13 remaining in the game. The 3–0 Flyers' win game them a 3–1 lead in the series. The Canadiens would open the scoring in Game 5 just 59 seconds into the game on Brian Gionta's ninth of the playoffs, but the Flyers took a 3–1 lead on a short-handed goal by Flyers' captain Mike Richards at 4:25 of the first period and even-strength goals 84 seconds apart by Arron Asham and Jeff Carter in the second period. The Canadiens cut the Flyer's lead to one on Scott Gomez's second of the playoffs (assisted by P. K. Subban and Brian Gionta) at 6:53 of the third period, but Jeff Carter would seal the 4–2 Flyers' win with an empty-net goal at 19:37 and give Philadelphia a 4–1 series win. The Canadiens' playoff performance was the franchise's best in 17 years, as it was the first time they reached the Conference Finals since 1993. However, with this loss, the Canadiens failed to become champions during the 2000s. Having won at least one Stanley Cup in each decade since the 1910s, the 2000s was their first decade without a Cup, thus ending a nine-decade streak of at least one championship per decade.

## Standings
### Divisional standings

Northeast Division :
| | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | y – Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 45 | 27 | 10 | 235 | 207 | 100 |
| 2 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 44 | 32 | 6 | 225 | 238 | 94 |
| 3 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 39 | 30 | 13 | 206 | 200 | 91 |
| 4 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 39 | 33 | 10 | 217 | 223 | 88 |
| 5 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 30 | 38 | 14 | 214 | 263 | 74 |

### Conference standings

Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 54 | 15 | 13 | 318 | 233 | 121 |
| 2 | y – New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 48 | 27 | 7 | 222 | 191 | 103 |
| 3 | y – Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 45 | 27 | 10 | 235 | 207 | 100 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 47 | 28 | 7 | 257 | 237 | 101 |
| 5 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 44 | 32 | 6 | 225 | 238 | 94 |
| 6 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 39 | 30 | 13 | 206 | 200 | 91 |
| 7 | Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 41 | 35 | 6 | 236 | 225 | 88 |
| 8 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 39 | 33 | 10 | 217 | 223 | 88 |
| 8.5 ||||||||||
| 9 | New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 38 | 33 | 11 | 222 | 218 | 87 |
| 10 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 35 | 34 | 13 | 234 | 256 | 83 |
| 11 | Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 35 | 37 | 10 | 230 | 256 | 80 |
| 12 | Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 34 | 36 | 12 | 217 | 260 | 80 |
| 13 | New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 222 | 264 | 79 |
| 14 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 32 | 37 | 13 | 208 | 244 | 77 |
| 15 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 30 | 38 | 14 | 214 | 267 | 74 |
bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy (and division)
AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division

## Schedule and results
### Preseason

Pre-season: 4–2–1 (home: 4–0–1; road: 0–2–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationAttendanceRecordRecap
1September 17Florida Panthers2–3Bell Centre21,2731–0–0
2September 18Ottawa Senators1–2Bell Centre21,2732–0–0
3September 19@ Ottawa Senators6–1Scotiabank Place17,9312–1–0
4September 20@ Boston Bruins2–1Colisée Pepsi, Quebec City15,3992–2–0
5September 21Pittsburgh Penguins3–4Bell Centre21,2733–2–0
6September 24Boston Bruins2–1 SOBell Centre21,2733–2–1
7September 26Buffalo Sabres2–3Bell Centre21,2734–2–1 :

### Regular season

2009–10 game log :
October: 7–7–0 (home: 5–2–0; road: 2–5–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
1October 1@ Toronto Maple Leafs4–3 OTAir Canada Centre19,6171–0–02
2October 3@ Buffalo Sabres2–1 OTHSBC Arena18,6902–0–04
3October 6@ Calgary Flames3–4Pengrowth Saddledome19,2892–1–04
4October 7@ Vancouver Canucks1–7General Motors Place18,8102–2–04
5October 10@ Edmonton Oilers2–3Rexall Place16,8392–3–04
6October 15Colorado Avalanche2–3Bell Centre21,2732–4–04
7October 17Ottawa Senators1–3Bell Centre21,2732–5–04
8October 20Atlanta Thrashers2–1 SOBell Centre21,2733–5–06
9October 22New York Islanders5–1Bell Centre21,2734–5–08
10October 24New York Rangers5–4 OTBell Centre21,2735–5–010
11October 26New York Islanders3–2 OTBell Centre21,2736–5–012
12October 28@ Pittsburgh Penguins1–6Mellon Arena16,9656–6–012
13October 30@ Chicago Blackhawks2–3United Center20,8076–7–012
14October 31Toronto Maple Leafs5–4 SOBell Centre21,2737–7–014 :
November: 5–5–2 (home: 2–3–2; road: 3–2–0) Season: 12–12–2 (home: 7–5–2; road: 5–7–0)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
15November 3Atlanta Thrashers5–4Bell Centre21,2737–8–014
16November 5@ Boston Bruins1–2 SOTD Garden17,5658–8–016
17November 7Tampa Bay Lightning3–1Bell Centre21,2738–9–016
18November 10Calgary Flames1–0Bell Centre21,2738–10–016
19November 12@ Phoenix Coyotes2–4Jobing.com Arena10,0649–10–018
20November 14@ Nashville Predators2–0Sommet Center15,6049–11–018
21November 17Carolina Hurricanes2–3 SOBell Centre21,27310–11–020
22November 20@ Washington Capitals2–3Verizon Center18,27711–11–022
23November 21Detroit Red Wings3–2 SOBell Centre21,27311–11–123
24November 24Columbus Blue Jackets3–5Bell Centre21,27312–11–125
25November 25@ Pittsburgh Penguins3–1Mellon Arena17,09412–12–125
26November 28Washington Capitals4–3 SOBell Centre21,27312–12–226 :
December: 9–7–1 (home: 2–4–0; road: 7–3–1) Season: 21–19–3 (home: 9–9–2; road: 12–10–1)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
27December 1Toronto Maple Leafs3–0Bell Centre21,27312–13–226
28December 3@ Buffalo Sabres6–2HSBC Arena18,69012–14–226
29December 4Boston Bruins1–5Bell Centre21,27313–14–228
30December 7Philadelphia Flyers1–3Bell Centre21,27314–14–230
31December 8@ Ottawa Senators1–4Scotiabank Place18,86615–14–232
32December 10Pittsburgh Penguins3–2Bell Centre21,27315–15–232
33December 12@ Atlanta Thrashers3–4 OTPhilips Arena16,61615–15–333
34December 14Buffalo Sabres4–3Bell Centre21,27315–16–333
35December 16@ New Jersey Devils2–1Prudential Center12,17815–17–333
36December 17Minnesota Wild3–1Bell Centre21,27315–18–333
37December 19@ New York Islanders0–3Nassau Coliseum7,84216–18–335
38December 21@ Atlanta Thrashers3–4 OTPhilips Arena15,07517–18–337
39December 23@ Carolina Hurricanes1–5RBC Center14,82018–18–339
40December 26@ Toronto Maple Leafs2–3 OTAir Canada Centre19,25019–18–341
41December 28@ Ottawa Senators4–2Scotiabank Place20,36919–19–341
42December 30@ Tampa Bay Lightning1–2 OTSt. Pete Times Forum18,44120–19–343
43December 31@ Florida Panthers4–5BankAtlantic Center19,85121–19–345 :
January: 4–6–3 (home: 3–2–2; road: 1–4–1) Season: 25–25–6 (home: 12–11–4; road: 13–14–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
44January 3Buffalo Sabres1–0Bell Centre21,27321–20–345
45January 5@ Washington Capitals4–2Verizon Center18,27721–21–345
46January 7Florida Panthers0–2Bell Centre21,27322–21–347
47January 9New Jersey Devils2–1 OTBell Centre21,27322–21–448
48January 14Dallas Stars3–5Bell Centre21,27323–21–450
49January 16Ottawa Senators4–2Bell Centre21,27323–22–450
50January 17@ New York Rangers2–6Madison Square Garden18,20023–23–450
51January 20St. Louis Blues4–3 OTBell Centre21,27323–23–551
52January 22@ New Jersey Devils3–1Prudential Center17,62524–23–553
53January 23New York Rangers6–0Bell Centre21,27325–23–555
54January 26@ Florida Panthers1–2BankAtlantic Center17,10425–24–555
55January 27@ Tampa Bay Lightning0–3St. Pete Times Forum14,40425–25–555
56January 30@ Ottawa Senators2–3 OTScotiabank Place20,50025–25–656 :
February: 4–3–0 (home: 3–1–0; road: 1–1–0) Season: 29–28–6 (home: 15–13–4; road: 14–15–2)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
57February 2Vancouver Canucks2–3Bell Centre21,27326–25–658
58February 4@ Boston Bruins3–2 SOTD Garden17,56527–25–660
59February 6Pittsburgh Penguins3–5Bell Centre21,27328–25–662
60February 7Boston Bruins3–0Bell Centre21,27328–26–662
61February 10Washington Capitals5–6 OTBell Centre21,27329–26–664
62February 12@ Philadelphia Flyers3–2Wachovia Center19,80329–27–664
63February 13Philadelphia Flyers6–2Bell Centre21,27329–28–664 :
March: 8–4–2 (home: 4–3–0; road: 4–1–2) Season: 37–32–8 (home: 19–16–4; road: 18–16–4)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
64March 2@ Boston Bruins1–4TD Garden17,56530–28–666
65March 4@ San Jose Sharks3–2HP Pavilion17,56230–29–666
66March 6@ Los Angeles Kings2–4Staples Center18,11831–29–668
67March 7@ Anaheim Ducks3–4 SOHonda Center15,88332–29–670
68March 9Tampa Bay Lightning3–5Bell Centre21,27333–29–672
69March 11Edmonton Oilers4–5 SOBell Centre21,27334–29–674
70March 13Boston Bruins2–3Bell Centre21,27335–29–676
71March 16@ New York Rangers1–3Madison Square Garden18,20036–29–678
72March 20@ Toronto Maple Leafs3–2 SOAir Canada Centre19,53836–29–779
73March 22Ottawa Senators2–0Bell Centre21,27336–30–779
74March 24@ Buffalo Sabres3–2 SOHSBC Arena18,69036–30–880
75March 25Florida Panthers1–4Bell Centre21,27337–30–882
76March 27New Jersey Devils4–2Bell Centre21,27337–31–882
77March 31Carolina Hurricanes1–2Bell Centre21,27337–32–882 :
April: 2–1–2 (home: 1–0–1; road: 1–1–1) Season: 39–33–10 (home: 20–16–5; road: 19–17–5)
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationAttendanceRecordPointsRecap
78April 2@ Philadelphia Flyers0–1Wachovia Center19,80138–32–884
79April 3Buffalo Sabres0–3Bell Centre21,27339–32–886
80April 6@ New York Islanders4–3 SONassau Coliseum10,26339–32–987
81April 8@ Carolina Hurricanes5–2RBC Center18,68039–33–987
82April 10Toronto Maple Leafs4–3 OTBell Centre21,27339–33–1088 :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss
  Overtime/shootout loss :
2009–10 schedule :

## Playoffs

Qualifying for the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs as the eighth and final seed, the Canadiens were able to upset the first-seeded Washington Capitals during the first round, and then eliminated the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins before falling to the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia Flyers in five games.
2010 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarter-finals: vs. (1) Washington Capitals
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 15Montreal Canadiens3–2Washington CapitalsOTHalak18,377Canadiens lead 1–0
2April 17Montreal Canadiens5–6Washington CapitalsOTHalak18,377Series tied 1–1
3April 19Washington Capitals5–1Montreal CanadiensHalak21,273Capitals lead 2–1
4April 21Washington Capitals6–3Montreal CanadiensPrice21,273Capitals lead 3–1
5April 23Montreal Canadiens2–1Washington CapitalsHalak18,377Capitals lead 3–2
6April 26Washington Capitals1–4Montreal CanadiensHalak21,273Series tied 3–3
7April 28Montreal Canadiens2–1Washington CapitalsHalak18,377Canadiens win 4–3 :
Eastern Conference Semi-finals: vs. (4) Pittsburgh Penguins
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 30Montreal Canadiens3–6Pittsburgh PenguinsHalak17,132Penguins lead 1–0
2May 2Montreal Canadiens3–1Pittsburgh PenguinsHalak17,132Series tied 1–1
3May 4Pittsburgh Penguins2–0Montreal CanadiensHalak21,273Penguins lead 2–1
4May 6Pittsburgh Penguins2–3Montreal CanadiensHalak21,273Series tied 2–2
5May 8Montreal Canadiens1–2Pittsburgh PenguinsHalak17,132Penguins lead 3–2
6May 10Pittsburgh Penguins3–4Montreal CanadiensHalak21,273Series tied 3–3
7May 12Montreal Canadiens5–2Pittsburgh PenguinsHalak17,132Canadiens win 4–3 :
Eastern Conference Finals: vs. (7) Philadelphia Flyers
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1May 16Montreal Canadiens0–6Philadelphia FlyersHalak19,927Flyers lead 1–0
2May 18Montreal Canadiens0–3Philadelphia FlyersHalak19,907Flyers lead 2–0
3May 20Philadelphia Flyers1–5Montreal CanadiensHalak21,273Flyers lead 2–1
4May 22Philadelphia Flyers3–0Montreal CanadiensHalak21,273Flyers lead 3–1
5May 24Montreal Canadiens2–4Philadelphia FlyersHalak19,986Flyers win 4–1 :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Tomas Plekanec | 82 | 25 | 45 | 70 | 5 | 50 |
| Scott Gomez | 78 | 12 | 47 | 59 | 1 | 60 |
| Michael Cammalleri | 65 | 26 | 24 | 50 | 7 | 16 |
| Brian Gionta | 61 | 28 | 18 | 46 | 3 | 26 |
| Andrei Markov | 45 | 6 | 28 | 34 | 11 | 32 |
| Marc-Andre Bergeron | 60 | 13 | 21 | 34 | −7 | 16 |
| Andrei Kostitsyn | 59 | 15 | 18 | 33 | 1 | 32 |
| Glen Metropolit | 69 | 16 | 13 | 29 | −1 | 24 |
| Roman Hamrlik | 75 | 6 | 20 | 26 | −2 | 56 |
| Benoit Pouliot$^†$ | 39 | 15 | 9 | 24 | 8 | 31 |
| Jaroslav Spacek | 74 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 9 | 50 |
| Travis Moen | 81 | 8 | 11 | 19 | −2 | 57 |
| Sergei Kostitsyn | 47 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 4 | 8 |
| Max Pacioretty | 52 | 3 | 11 | 14 | −5 | 20 |
| Maxim Lapierre | 76 | 7 | 7 | 14 | −14 | 61 |
| Hal Gill | 68 | 2 | 9 | 11 | −10 | 68 |
| Dominic Moore$^†$ | 21 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 4 | 8 |
| Mathieu Darche | 29 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 4 |
| Josh Gorges | 82 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 39 |
| Paul Mara | 42 | 0 | 8 | 8 | −16 | 48 |
| Tom Pyatt | 40 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −5 | 10 |
| Ryan O'Byrne | 55 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −3 | 74 |
| Matt D'Agostini$^‡$ | 40 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −12 | 26 |
| Georges Laraque | 28 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −6 | 28 |
| Guillaume Latendresse$^‡$ | 23 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −4 | 4 |
| Ryan White | 16 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −6 | 16 |
| P. K. Subban | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| David Desharnais | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 0 |
| Shawn Belle | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 |
| James Wyman | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 |
| Gregory Stewart | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 11 |
| Mathieu Carle | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Yannick Weber | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −5 | 4 |
| Brock Trotter | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| Ben Maxwell | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 6 |
| Kyle Chipchura$^‡$ | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −10 | 16 |
| Jay Leach$^‡$ | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Michael Cammalleri | 19 | 13 | 6 | 19 | −6 | 6 |
| Brian Gionta | 19 | 9 | 6 | 15 | −6 | 14 |
| Scott Gomez | 19 | 2 | 12 | 14 | −6 | 25 |
| Tomas Plekanec | 19 | 4 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 20 |
| Roman Hamrlik | 19 | 0 | 9 | 9 | −1 | 15 |
| Andrei Kostitsyn | 19 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −1 | 12 |
| P. K. Subban | 14 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 6 |
| Marc-Andre Bergeron | 19 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −12 | 10 |
| Dominic Moore | 19 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Andrei Markov | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −3 | 0 |
| Jaroslav Spacek | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −2 | 6 |
| Maxim Lapierre | 19 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −2 | 20 |
| Tom Pyatt | 18 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −1 | 2 |
| Travis Moen | 19 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Glen Metropolit | 16 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −3 | 4 |
| Benoit Pouliot | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −5 | 6 |
| Josh Gorges | 19 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −4 | 14 |
| Hal Gill | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 20 |
| Mathieu Darche | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 2 |
| Sergei Kostitsyn | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan O'Byrne | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| Ben Maxwell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |

### Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime losses; GA = Goals against; GAA= Goals against average; SA= Shots against; SV= Saves; Sv% = Save percentage; SO= Shutouts
Regular season :
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | Sv% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Jaroslav Halak | 45 | 2630 | 26 | 13 | 5 | 105 | 2.40 | 1386 | .924 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Carey Price | 41 | 2358 | 13 | 20 | 5 | 109 | 2.77 | 1244 | .912 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | Sv% | SO |
| Jaroslav Halak | 18 | 1013 | 9 | 9 | 43 | 2.55 | 562 | .923 | 0 |
| Carey Price | 4 | 135 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3.56 | 73 | .890 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Canadiens. Stats reflect time with Canadiens only. $^‡$Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Canadiens only.

## Suspensions/fines

| Player | Explanation | Length | Salary | Date issued | Ref |
| Georges Laraque | Kneeing Red Wings defenceman Niklas Kronwall | 5 games | $38,860.00 | November 23, 2009 | |
| Maxim Lapierre | Boarding Sharks forward Scott Nichol | 4 games | $14,248.72 | March 5, 2010 | |

## Awards and records
### Milestones

Regular season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Michael Cammalleri | 300th Career NHL Point | October 30, 2009 |
| Andrei Kostitsyn | 200th Career NHL Game | October 31, 2009 |
| Mathieu Carle | 1st Career NHL Game | November 3, 2009 |
| Tom Pyatt | 1st Career NHL Game | November 5, 2009 |
| Ryan White | 1st Career NHL Game 1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point | November 5, 2009 |
| Marc-Andre Bergeron | 100th Career NHL Assist | November 12, 2009 |
| Tomas Plekanec | 200th Career NHL Point | November 12, 2009 |
| J. T. Wyman | 1st Career NHL Game | November 24, 2009 |
| David Desharnais | 1st Career NHL Game | November 25, 2009 |
| Georges Laraque | 100th Career NHL Assist | December 7, 2009 |
| Michael Cammalleri | 400th Career NHL Game | December 17, 2009 |
| Travis Moen | 400th Career NHL Game | December 21, 2009 |
| Scott Gomez | 600th Career NHL Point | December 26, 2009 |
| Brian Gionta | 500th Career NHL Game | January 14, 2010 |
| Glen Metropolit | 100th Career NHL Assist | January 14, 2010 |
| Roman Hamrlik | 1,200th Career NHL Game | January 17, 2010 |
| Josh Gorges | 300th Career NHL Game | January 26, 2010 |
| Ryan O'Byrne | 100th Career NHL Game | February 2, 2010 |
| Brock Trotter | 1st Career NHL Game | February 6, 2010 |
| David Desharnais | 1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point | February 10, 2010 |
| Tom Pyatt | 1st Career NHL Goal 1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point | February 10, 2010 |
| P. K. Subban | 1st Career NHL Game 1st Career NHL Assist 1st Career NHL Point | February 12, 2010 |
| Hal Gill | 900th Career NHL Game | February 13, 2010 |
| Benoit Pouliot | 100th Career NHL Game | March 2, 2010 |
| Andrei Markov | 600th Career NHL Game | March 6, 2010 |
| Glen Metropolit | 400th Career NHL Game | March 9, 2010 |
| Tomas Plekanec | 100th Career NHL Goal | March 25, 2010 |
Playoffs :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Mathieu Darche | 1st Career Playoff Game | April 15, 2010 |
| Jaroslav Halak | 1st Career Playoff Win | April 15, 2010 |
| Benoit Pouliot | 1st Career Playoff Assist 1st Career Playoff Point | April 15, 2010 |
| Tom Pyatt | 1st Career Playoff Game | April 15, 2010 |
| Dominic Moore | 1st Career Playoff Goal 1st Career Playoff Point | April 21, 2010 |
| Maxim Lapierre | 1st Career Playoff Goal | April 26, 2010 |
| P. K. Subban | 1st Career Playoff Game 1st Career Playoff Assist 1st Career Playoff Point | April 26, 2010 |
| P. K. Subban | 1st Career Playoff Goal | April 30, 2010 |
| Ben Maxwell | 1st Career Playoff Game | May 2, 2010 |
| Mathieu Darche | 1st Career Playoff Assist 1st Career Playoff Point | May 6, 2010 |
| Tom Pyatt | 1st Career Playoff Goal 1st Career Playoff Assist 1st Career Playoff Point | May 6, 2010 |
| Dominic Moore | 1st Career Playoff Assist | May 20, 2010 |

### Awards

Regular season :
| Player | Award | Date |
| Mike Cammalleri | NHL Second Star of the Week | October 26, 2009 |
| Carey Price | NHL Second Star of the Week | November 23, 2009 |
| Jaroslav Halak | NHL First Star of the Week | December 28, 2009 |
| Jaroslav Halak | NHL First Star of the Week | April 5, 2010 |

## Transactions

The Canadiens were involved in the following transactions during the 2009–10 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 27, 2009 | To Pittsburgh Penguins 6th-round pick in 2010 | To Montreal Canadiens 7th-round pick (211th overall) in 2009 |
| June 30, 2009 | To New York Rangers Chris Higgins Ryan McDonagh Pavel Valentenko Doug Janik | To Montreal Canadiens Scott Gomez Tom Pyatt Michael Busto |
| November 23, 2009 | To Minnesota Wild Guillaume Latendresse | To Montreal Canadiens Benoit Pouliot |
| December 2, 2009 | To Anaheim Ducks Kyle Chipchura | To Montreal Canadiens 4th-round pick in 2011 |
| February 11, 2010 | To Florida Panthers 2nd-round pick in 2011 | To Montreal Canadiens Dominic Moore |
| March 2, 2010 | To St. Louis Blues Matt D'Agostini | To Montreal Canadiens Aaron Palushaj |

### Lost via retirement

* Player
* Patrice Brisebois

### Player signings

| Player | Contract terms |
| P. K. Subban | 3 years |
| Andre Benoit | 1 year, 2-way contract |
| Alex Henry | 1 year, 2-way contract |
| Mike Glumac | 1 year, 2-way contract |
| Kyle Chipchura | 1 year, $500,000 |
| Guillaume Latendresse | 1 year, $803,000 |
| Shawn Belle | 1 year, 2-way contract |
| Tomas Plekanec | 1 year, $2.75 million |
| Greg Stewart | 1 year, $500,000 |
| Matt D'Agostini | 1 year |
| Gabriel Dumont | 3-year entry-level contract |

## Draft picks

Montreal's picks at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal, Quebec.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/junior/club team (league) |
| 1 | 18 | Louis Leblanc | C | Canada | Omaha Lancers (USHL) |
| 3 | 65 (from Atlanta) | Joonas Nattinen | C | Finland | Blues Jr. (SM-liiga) |
| 3 | 79 | Mac Bennett | D | United States | Hotchkiss School (USHS-CT) |
| 4 | 109 | Alexander Avtsin | F | Russia | Dynamo Moscow (RHL) |
| 5 | 139 | Gabriel Dumont | C | Canada | Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 169 | Dustin Walsh | C | Canada | Kingston Voyageurs (OJHL) |
| 7 | 199 | Michael Cichy | C | United States | Indiana Ice (USHL) |
| 7 | 211 (from Pittsburgh) | Petteri Simila | G | Finland | Karpat (Jr. A SM-liiga) |

## Farm teams
### Hamilton Bulldogs

The Hamilton Bulldogs remain Montreal's top affiliate in the American Hockey League in 2009–10.

### Cincinnati Cyclones

Montreal continues their affiliation alongside the Nashville Predators for the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL in 2009–10.

## Broadcasting

| Country | Broadcaster |
| Canada | English: CBC, TSN, NHL Network; French: RDS, RIS. |
| United States | Versus, ESPN, NBC, CBS, Fox, HDNet, NHL Network. |
| Europe | NASN, NHL Network. |
| Russia | NTV (Russia). |
| Japan South Korea Thailand | ASN. |