# 2005–06 Montreal Canadiens season

The 2005–06 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 97th season, 89th in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Canadiens would qualify for the 2006 playoffs, eventually being eliminated in the conference quarterfinals by the Carolina Hurricanes in six games.

## Regular season

Claude Julien started the season as coach but was fired and replaced on an interim basis by general manager Bob Gainey on January 14. The Canadiens's number one goaltender Jose Theodore was traded to the Colorado Avalanche. His place was taken by Cristobal Huet. Huet would lead the league in save percentage of 92.9% and placed fourth overall in goals against average of 2.20.

### Final standings

Northeast Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | Ottawa Senators | 82 | 52 | 21 | 9 | 314 | 211 | 113 |
| 2 | 4 | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 52 | 24 | 6 | 281 | 239 | 110 |
| 3 | 7 | Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 42 | 31 | 9 | 243 | 247 | 93 |
| 4 | 9 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 41 | 33 | 8 | 257 | 270 | 90 |
| 5 | 13 | Boston Bruins | 82 | 29 | 37 | 16 | 230 | 266 | 74 |
Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime/Shootout loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Z- Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 52 | 21 | 9 | 314 | 211 | 113 |
| 2 | Y- Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 52 | 22 | 8 | 294 | 260 | 112 |
| 3 | Y- New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 46 | 27 | 9 | 242 | 229 | 101 |
| 4 | X- Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 52 | 24 | 6 | 242 | 239 | 110 |
| 5 | X- Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 45 | 26 | 11 | 267 | 259 | 101 |
| 6 | X- New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 44 | 26 | 12 | 257 | 215 | 100 |
| 7 | X- Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 42 | 31 | 9 | 243 | 247 | 93 |
| 8 | X- Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 252 | 260 | 92 |
| 8.5 ||||||||||
| 9 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 41 | 33 | 8 | 257 | 270 | 90 |
| 10 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 41 | 33 | 8 | 281 | 275 | 90 |
| 11 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 37 | 34 | 11 | 240 | 257 | 85 |
| 12 | New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 36 | 40 | 6 | 230 | 278 | 78 |
| 13 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 29 | 37 | 16 | 230 | 266 | 74 |
| 14 | Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 29 | 41 | 12 | 237 | 306 | 70 |
| 15 | Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 22 | 46 | 14 | 244 | 316 | 58 |
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast
Z – Clinched Conference; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

2005–06 regular season :
October: 8–3–1 (home: 3–3–0; road: 5–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1WOctober 5, 20052–1@ Boston Bruins (2005–06)1–0–0Recap
2WOctober 6, 20054–3 OT@ New York Rangers (2005–06)2–0–0Recap
3WOctober 8, 20055–4@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)3–0–0Recap
4LOctober 11, 20052–4Ottawa Senators (2005–06)3–1–0Recap
5WOctober 12, 20052–0@ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)4–1–0Recap
6LOctober 15, 20052–3Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)4–2–0Recap
7WOctober 18, 20054–3Boston Bruins (2005–06)5–2–0Recap
8WOctober 22, 20054–3New York Islanders (2005–06)6–2–0Recap
9WOctober 25, 20053–2 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (2005–06)7–2–0Recap
10LOctober 27, 20053–4 OT@ Ottawa Senators (2005–06)7–2–1Recap
11LOctober 29, 20052–5New York Rangers (2005–06)7–3–1Recap
12WOctober 31, 20054–1@ New York Rangers (2005–06)8–3–1Recap :
November: 6–4–3 (home: 5–1–1; road: 1–3–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
13WNovember 1, 20055–4 OTFlorida Panthers (2005–06)9–3–1Recap
14WNovember 4, 20053–2@ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)10–3–1Recap
15WNovember 5, 20053–2Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)11–3–1Recap
16WNovember 8, 20053–2Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)12–3–1Recap
17LNovember 10, 20052–3 SO@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)12–3–2Recap
18LNovember 12, 20054–5 OTToronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)12–3–3Recap
19WNovember 15, 20054–3 OTFlorida Panthers (2005–06)13–3–3Recap
20LNovember 18, 20053–5@ New Jersey Devils (2005–06)13–4–3Recap
21LNovember 19, 20051–5Washington Capitals (2005–06)13–5–3Recap
22WNovember 22, 20053–2 SOAtlanta Thrashers (2005–06)14–5–3Recap
23LNovember 25, 20051–3@ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)14–6–3Recap
24LNovember 26, 20053–4 OT@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)14–6–4Recap
25LNovember 29, 20050–4@ Ottawa Senators (2005–06)14–7–4Recap :
December: 4–6–2 (home: 3–1–1; road: 1–5–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
26LDecember 1, 20052–3 OTBuffalo Sabres (2005–06)14–7–5Recap
27WDecember 3, 20053–2Los Angeles Kings (2005–06)15–7–5Recap
28LDecember 10, 20053–5Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2005–06)15–8–5Recap
29WDecember 13, 20055–2Phoenix Coyotes (2005–06)16–8–5Recap
30LDecember 15, 20053–5@ Edmonton Oilers (2005–06)16–9–5Recap
31LDecember 17, 20053–4 OT@ Minnesota Wild (2005–06)16–9–6Recap
32WDecember 20, 20054–3 SOOttawa Senators (2005–06)17–9–6Recap
33LDecember 23, 20052–4@ Washington Capitals (2005–06)17–10–6Recap
34LDecember 26, 20050–4@ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)17–11–6Recap
35WDecember 28, 20054–3@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)18–11–6Recap
36LDecember 30, 20051–2@ Florida Panthers (2005–06)18–12–6Recap
37LDecember 31, 20053–5@ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)18–13–6Recap :
January: 5–8–0 (home: 3–2–0; road: 2–6–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
38LJanuary 3, 20064–6Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)18–14–6Recap
39LJanuary 5, 20064–5@ New Jersey Devils (2005–06)18–15–6Recap
40WJanuary 7, 20064–1Ottawa Senators (2005–06)19–15–6Recap
41LJanuary 11, 20061–2@ Colorado Avalanche (2005–06)19–16–6Recap
42WJanuary 14, 20066–2San Jose Sharks (2005–06)20–16–6Recap
43WJanuary 16, 20064–2Dallas Stars (2005–06)21–16–6Recap
44LJanuary 19, 20062–3@ Calgary Flames (2005–06)21–17–6Recap
45LJanuary 21, 20062–6@ Vancouver Canucks (2005–06)21–18–6Recap
46LJanuary 23, 20063–7@ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)21–19–6Recap
47WJanuary 25, 20065–3@ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)22–19–6Recap
48LJanuary 26, 20060–3@ Ottawa Senators (2005–06)22–20–6Recap
49WJanuary 28, 20064–3 OT@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)23–20–6Recap
50LJanuary 31, 20062–8Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)23–21–6Recap :
February: 4–1–2 (home: 2–0–2; road: 2–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
51LFebruary 2, 20061–3@ Boston Bruins (2005–06)23–22–6Recap
52WFebruary 4, 20062–0Boston Bruins (2005–06)24–22–6Recap
53WFebruary 5, 20065–0Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)25–22–6Recap
54LFebruary 7, 20062–3 OTBuffalo Sabres (2005–06)25–22–7Recap
55WFebruary 9, 20063–2 OT@ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)26–22–7Recap
56LFebruary 11, 20061–2 SOAtlanta Thrashers (2005–06)26–22–8Recap
57WFebruary 28, 20065–3@ New York Islanders (2005–06)27–22–8Recap :
March: 10–5–1 (home: 5–3–0; road: 5–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
58WMarch 2, 20061–0@ Florida Panthers (2005–06)28–22–8Recap
59WMarch 4, 20066–2@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)29–22–8Recap
60LMarch 6, 20064–5 SO@ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)29–22–9Recap
61LMarch 7, 20063–5@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)29–23–9Recap
62WMarch 9, 20063–0@ Boston Bruins (2005–06)30–23–9Recap
63WMarch 11, 20061–0New York Rangers (2005–06)31–23–9Recap
64LMarch 13, 20061–2Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)31–24–9Recap
65LMarch 16, 20061–5Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)31–25–9Recap
66LMarch 18, 20064–5Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)31–26–9Recap
67WMarch 20, 20064–2@ Washington Capitals (2005–06)32–26–9Recap
68LMarch 21, 20061–3@ New York Islanders (2005–06)32–27–9Recap
69WMarch 23, 20065–1Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)33–27–9Recap
70WMarch 25, 20066–2Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)34–27–9Recap
71WMarch 26, 20066–5@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)35–27–9Recap
72WMarch 28, 20062–0New York Islanders (2005–06)36–27–9Recap
73WMarch 30, 20063–2 OTWashington Capitals (2005–06)37–27–9Recap :
April: 5–4–0 (home: 3–3–0; road: 2–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
74WApril 1, 20062–0Boston Bruins (2005–06)38–27–9Recap
75WApril 4, 20065–3Boston Bruins (2005–06)39–27–9Recap
76WApril 6, 20065–3@ Ottawa Senators (2005–06)40–27–9Recap
77LApril 8, 20062–3New Jersey Devils (2005–06)40–28–9Recap
78WApril 10, 20063–2Ottawa Senators (2005–06)41–28–9Recap
79LApril 12, 20061–3@ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)41–29–9Recap
80WApril 13, 20064–3@ Boston Bruins (2005–06)42–29–9Recap
81LApril 15, 20062–4Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)42–30–9Recap
82LApril 18, 20063–4New Jersey Devils (2005–06)42–31–9Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

## Playoffs

The Canadiens placed 3rd in the Northeast division, and seventh in the Eastern Conference. The Canadiens played the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes in the first round and lost four games to two. The Canadiens were winning 2–0 in the series when Saku Koivu sustained a serious injury to his left eye. Hurricanes forward Justin Williams attempted to lift Koivu's stick but instead struck him in the eye. Koivu was rushed to the hospital, where he would remain overnight and for the remainder of the playoffs. Koivu remained out of the lineup for the rest of the series and underwent surgery to repair a detached retina during the off-season.

### Eastern Conference Quarterfinals: vs. (2) Carolina Hurricanes

2006 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (2) Carolina Hurricanes – Hurricanes win 4–2
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1WApril 22, 20066–1@ Carolina HurricanesCanadiens lead 1–0Recap
2WApril 24, 20066–5 OT@ Carolina HurricanesCanadiens lead 2–0Recap
3LApril 26, 20061–2 OTCarolina HurricanesCanadiens lead 2–1Recap
4LApril 28, 20062–3Carolina HurricanesSeries tied 2–2Recap
5LApril 30, 20061–2@ Carolina HurricanesHurricanes lead 3–2Recap
6LMay 2, 20061–2 OTCarolina HurricanesHurricanes win 4–2Recap :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Centre; D = Defence; G = Goaltender; LW = Left Wing; RW = Right Wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 27 | Alexei Kovalev | RW | 69 | 23 | 42 | 65 | −1 | 76 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 4 |
| 11 | Saku Koivu | C | 72 | 17 | 45 | 62 | 1 | 70 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 73 | Michael Ryder | RW | 81 | 30 | 25 | 55 | −5 | 40 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −4 | 0 |
| 71 | Mike Ribeiro | LW | 79 | 16 | 35 | 51 | −6 | 36 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 79 | Andrei Markov | D | 67 | 10 | 36 | 46 | 13 | 74 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 38 | Jan Bulis | LW | 73 | 20 | 20 | 40 | 2 | 50 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 44 | Sheldon Souray | D | 75 | 12 | 27 | 39 | −11 | 116 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | −1 | 8 |
| 21 | Chris Higgins | C | 80 | 23 | 15 | 38 | −1 | 26 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −3 | 0 |
| 52 | Craig Rivet | D | 82 | 7 | 27 | 34 | −5 | 109 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 20 | Richard Zednik | RW | 67 | 16 | 14 | 30 | −2 | 48 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 35 | Tomas Plekanec | LW | 67 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 4 | 32 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 22 | Steve Begin | C | 76 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 9 | 113 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| 51 | Francis Bouillon | D | 67 | 3 | 19 | 22 | −6 | 34 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| 14 | Radek Bonk | C | 61 | 6 | 15 | 21 | −3 | 52 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −1 | 2 |
| 25 | Mathieu Dandenault | D | 82 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 8 | 83 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 42 | Alexander Perezhogin | RW | 67 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 5 | 38 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 37 | Niklas Sundstrom | RW | 55 | 6 | 9 | 15 | −6 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| 26 | Pierre Dagenais | RW | 32 | 5 | 7 | 12 | −5 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 32 | Mark Streit | D | 48 | 2 | 9 | 11 | −6 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 57 | Garth Murray | C | 36 | 5 | 1 | 6 | −2 | 44 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | Mike Komisarek | D | 71 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −1 | 116 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 47 | Aaron Downey† | RW | 25 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 50 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | Andrei Kostitsyn | RW | 12 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 86 | Jonathan Ferland | RW | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 60 | Jose Theodore‡ | G | 38 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | David Aebischer† | G | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 64 | Jean-Philippe Cote | D | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 75 | Yann Danis | G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 39 | Cristobal Huet | G | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 3 | Raitis Ivanans | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 40 | Maxim Lapierre | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 24 | Todd Simpson† | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### Goaltending

* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only.
| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | OT | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 39 | Cristobal Huet | 36 | 18 | 11 | 4 | 1008 | 77 | 2.20 | .929 | 7 | 2103 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 212 | 15 | 2.33 | .929 | 0 | 386 |
| 60 | Jose Theodore‡ | 38 | 17 | 15 | 5 | 1025 | 122 | 3.46 | .881 | 0 | 2114 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | David Aebischer† | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 240 | 26 | 3.73 | .892 | 0 | 418 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 75 | Yann Danis | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 152 | 14 | 2.69 | .908 | 1 | 312 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honour | Recipient |
| League (annual) | Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award | Cristobal Huet |
| League (in-season) | NHL Defensive Player of the Week | Cristobal Huet (March 6) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Defensive Player of the Week | Cristobal Huet (April 3) |
| Team | Jacques Beauchamp Molson Trophy | Steve Begin |
| Team | Molson Cup | Saku Koivu |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Alexander Perezhogin | October 6, 2005 |
| First game | Raitis Ivanans | October 8, 2005 |
| First game | Mark Streit | October 8, 2005 |
| First game | Yann Danis | October 12, 2005 |
| First game | Maxim Lapierre | November 15, 2005 |
| First game | Jean-Philippe Cote | November 29, 2005 |
| First game | Andrei Kostitsyn | December 1, 2005 |
| First game | Jonathan Ferland | January 3, 2006 |

## Transactions

The Canadiens were involved in the following transactions from February 17, 2005, the day after the 2004–05 NHL season was officially cancelled, through June 19, 2006, the day of the deciding game of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| July 30, 2005 (2005-07-30) | To New York Rangers 2nd-round pick in 20053rd-round pick in 2005 | To Montreal Canadiens 2nd-round pick in 2005 |
| September 30, 2005 (2005-09-30) | To New York Rangers Marcel Hossa | To Montreal Canadiens Garth Murray |
| March 8, 2006 (2006-03-08) | To Colorado Avalanche Jose Theodore | To Montreal Canadiens David Aebischer |
| March 9, 2006 (2006-03-09) | To Chicago Blackhawks 6th-round pick in 2006 | To Montreal Canadiens Todd Simpson |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| August 2, 2005 (2005-08-02) | Pete Vandermeer | Detroit Red Wings | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 3, 2005 (2005-08-03) | Mathieu Dandenault | Detroit Red Wings | 4-year | Free agency |
| August 16, 2005 (2005-08-16) | Johnathan Aitken | Vancouver Canucks | 1-year | Free agency |
| September 7, 2005 (2005-09-07) | Jeff Paul | Washington Capitals | 1-year | Free agency |
| December 8, 2005 (2005-12-08) | Francis Lemieux | Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) | 3-year | Free agency |
| January 9, 2006 (2006-01-09) | Andre Benoit | Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) | 3-year | Free agency |
| January 23, 2006 (2006-01-23) | Aaron Downey | St. Louis Blues | | Waivers |
| March 2, 2006 (2006-03-02) | James Sanford | Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) | 2-year | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| June 20, 2005 (2005-06-20) | Marc-Andre Thinel | Dragons de Rouen (Ligue Magnus) | Free agency (II) |
| August 3, 2005 (2005-08-03) | Patrice Brisebois | Colorado Avalanche | Free agency (III) |
| August 4, 2005 (2005-08-04) | Jason Ward | New York Rangers | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 25, 2005 (2005-08-25) | Karl Dykhuis | Adler Mannheim (DEL) | Free agency (III) |
| August 29, 2005 (2005-08-29) | Gavin Morgan | EHC Basel (NLA) | Free agency (VI) |
| August 29, 2005 (2005-08-29) | Matt Shasby | Alaska Aces (ECHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 30, 2005 (2005-08-30) | Christian Larrivee | Long Beach Ice Dogs (ECHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| November 29, 2005 (2005-11-29) | Ron Hainsey | Columbus Blue Jackets | Waivers |
| June 7, 2006 (2006-06-07) | Niklas Sundstrom | Modo Hockey (SHL) | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| July 28, 2005 (2005-07-28) | Jimmy Bonneau | 3-year | Entry-level |
| July 28, 2005 (2005-07-28) | Maxim Lapierre | 3-year | Entry-level |
| August 2, 2005 (2005-08-02) | Francis Bouillon | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 3, 2005 (2005-08-03) | Alexei Kovalev | 4-year | Re-signing |
| August 8, 2005 (2005-08-08) | Pierre Dagenais | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 11, 2005 (2005-08-11) | Jaroslav Halak | 3-year | Entry-level |
| August 11, 2005 (2005-08-11) | Mike Komisarek | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 11, 2005 (2005-08-11) | Mike Ribeiro | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12) | Jan Bulis | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Marcel Hossa | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Saku Koivu | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 16, 2005 (2005-08-16) | Tomas Plekanec | 2-year | Re-signing |
| August 24, 2005 (2005-08-24) | Mark Streit | 1-year | Entry-level |
| August 25, 2005 (2005-08-25) | Andrei Markov | 2-year | Re-signing |
| September 2, 2005 (2005-09-02) | Jose Theodore | 3-year | Re-signing |
| September 12, 2005 (2005-09-12) | Michael Ryder | 1-year | Re-signing |
| February 11, 2006 (2006-02-11) | Saku Koivu | 3-year | Extension |
| March 25, 2006 (2006-03-25) | Kyle Chipchura | 3-year | Entry-level |
| May 30, 2006 (2006-05-30) | Loic Lacasse | 3-year | Entry-level |
| May 30, 2006 (2006-05-30) | Greg Stewart | 3-year | Entry-level |
| June 5, 2006 (2006-06-05) | Steve Begin | 3-year | Re-signing |
| June 5, 2006 (2006-06-05) | Aaron Downey | 1-year | Re-signing |
| June 5, 2006 (2006-06-05) | Garth Murray | 2-year | Re-signing |
| June 7, 2006 (2006-06-07) | Mark Streit | 2-year | Re-signing |

## Draft picks

Montreal's draft picks at the 2005 NHL entry draft held at the Westin Hotel in Ottawa, Ontario.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 5 | Carey Price | Canada | Tri-City Americans (WHL) |
| 2 | 45 | Guillaume Latendresse | Canada | Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL) |
| 4 | 121 | Juraj Mikus | Slovakia | HK 36 Skalica Jr. (Slovakia) |
| 5 | 130 | Mathieu Aubin | Canada | Lewiston Maineiacs (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 190 | Matt D'Agostini | Canada | Guelph Storm (OHL) |
| 7 | 200 | Sergei Kostitsyn | Belarus | HK Gomel (Belarusian Extraleague) |
| 7 | 229 | Philippe Paquet | Canada | Salisbury School (USHS-CT) |