Early Centennial year celebrations The team announced its intention to retire two
uniform numbers during the 2008–09 season. As of March 2009, the only confirmed number is
Patrick Roy's number 33, which was retired on November 22, 2008. In celebration of the Montreal Canadiens' centennial, the
2009 NHL All-Star Game was held in Montreal on January 25, 2009, and the
2009 NHL entry draft, scheduled for June 2009, was awarded to the city.
October On October 10, the Canadiens embarked on a trip for three consecutive road games where they opened the season against the
Buffalo Sabres, at the
HSBC Arena. Montreal lost the opening game of the season in
shootout, but subsequently won 6–1 against the
Toronto Maple Leafs on October 11 and 5–3 against the
Philadelphia Flyers on October 13. The team returned to Montreal after four days on the road and a 2–0–1 record. The Canadiens hosted the
Boston Bruins for their 100th home opening game and won 4–3 in shootout, with Alex Tanguay scoring the winning goal. On October 18,
Saku Koivu achieved his 422nd assist with the Montreal Canadiens and surpassed
Maurice "the Rocket" Richard at number seven for all-time assists
in franchise history. Two days later, he got his 600th NHL career point when the Canadiens defeated the
Florida Panthers 3–1. According to a
Forbes report published in late October 2008, the franchise ranks as the third most valuable in the NHL at US$334 million, making an 18% increase in the past season. The Toronto Maple Leafs and
Detroit Red Wings were respectively ranked first and second in the report.
November On November 1, against the
New York Islanders,
Andrei Markov became the second
defenceman in franchise history, after
Guy Lapointe, to get five points in his first five road games of the season. On November 10, the league announced that forward
Tom Kostopoulos was suspended for three games after hitting Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman
Mike Van Ryn from behind. On November 11,
Chris Higgins got his first NHL career
hat-trick in a 4–0 win against the
Ottawa Senators. On November 22, the jersey number 33 of legendary goaltender
Patrick Roy was retired. On November 24, against the New York Islanders,
Ryan O'Byrne scored on his own net during a delayed penalty call, where
Carey Price was pulled off for an extra attacker. On November 29,
Mike Komisarek—who was not playing due to injury—temporarily took a place behind the bench as an assistant coach, in replacement of
Doug Jarvis, who was at his father's bedside. Rookie
right winger Matt D'Agostini was recalled from
Hamilton Bulldogs of the
American Hockey League (AHL) and
Roman Hamrlik got his 400th NHL career assist in a 3–2 win over the Buffalo Sabres.
December On December 2, Saku Koivu achieved his 612th point with the Montreal Canadiens after recording two assists in a 5–4 win over the
Atlanta Thrashers. He tied
Mats Näslund at 11th for all-time points in franchise history. Koivu then surpassed Naslund on December 6 after recording an assist in a 2–1
overtime loss over the
New Jersey Devils. Matt D'Agostini scored his first NHL career goal and point and Roman Hamrlik played his 100th game with the club. The Montreal Canadiens celebrated the 99th anniversary of the franchise on December 4 with a 6–2 win over the
New York Rangers. Matt D'Agostini got his first NHL assist in a two-point performance.
Georges Laraque got his first two points with his new team. D'Agostini had a successful debut with the team, recording six goals and two assists in his first 11 games. On December 13,
Ben Maxwell played his first game in the NHL against the
Washington Capitals after Saku Koivu was placed on the
injured reserve list. On December 18, against the Philadelphia Flyers,
Alexei Kovalev got his 900th NHL career point. After the Christmas break, the Canadiens were back in action on the road on December 27 and won 3–2 against the
Pittsburgh Penguins. The Montreal Canadiens enjoyed their 3000th franchise victory, with a 5–2 win over the Florida Panthers at
Sunrise on December 29, solidifying their place as the most successful team in
NHL history.
Andrei Kostitsyn and
Maxim Lapierre scored their first career
hat-tricks during this road trip.
January General Manager
Bob Gainey presented his mid-season report on January 13. He stated that he was looking to improve the team's
power play, which was 26th in the league, and he wanted to acquire a proven player capable of helping the power play. When asked by a reporter what was his best transaction since taking over as the team's general manager, he answered that the hiring of
Guy Carbonneau as head coach was his best move.
February In order to help bolster their power play, Bob Gainey acquired
Mathieu Schneider from the
Atlanta Thrashers for a combination of draft picks. This is Schneider's second tenure with the Canadiens, who began his career in Montreal after being drafted by the team in 1987. On February 17, Alexei Kovalev was asked by managing director Bob Gainey to go home and take a rest. He missed two games. There were rumors that he would be traded and the city was abuzz. Kovalev rejoined the team on February 21 and scored one goal and added two assists in a convincing 5–3 win over the Ottawa Senators. Kovalev received the
first star of the game to the delight of the Montreal crowd. A reporter for the Montreal newspaper
La Presse stated on the evening of February 19 that the February 20 edition of the paper would have an exposé that would make the Kovalev situation seem inconsequential. The paper reported that Roman Hamrlik and brothers Andrei and
Sergei Kostitsyn were involved with a person believed to be part of an
organized crime ring in Montreal. Although the players have admitted that they know the person in question, no accusations nor proof has been provided indicating that the players were involved in any illegal activities. The article has since been written off as tabloid journalism and a major example on how the Montreal media negatively treat the Canadiens players. On February 26, Gainey traded
Steve Begin to the
Dallas Stars for
Doug Janik, who was immediately sent to the Hamilton Bulldogs. Begin, who was often a healthy scratch during the season, would have been an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Saku Koivu scored his 624th point with the Canadiens with an assist in a February 27 game against the Philadelphia Flyers. He became the tenth all-time leading scorer in Canadiens history, surpassing
Elmer Lach. The Canadiens claimed
Glen Metropolit off
waivers from the Philadelphia Flyers on February 27. Metropolit was practicing with the Flyers earlier in the day when Flyers General Manager
Paul Holmgren informed him, "I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that you're playing tonight. The bad news is that you're playing for the Canadiens." The Canadiens were in town playing the Flyers that same day and Metropolit simply moved his equipment to the visitor's dressing room.
March Approaching the
NHL trade deadline, Bob Gainey traded for Mathieu Schneider and claimed Glen Metropolit. Gainey confirmed that he couldn't risk trading away his young prospects for any "rental players." On March 9, Gainey announced that he was replacing Guy Carbonneau as head coach until the end of the season.
Don Lever was named assistant-coach.
Patrice Brisebois played his 1,000th NHL game on March 14 in a 3–2 loss to the
New Jersey Devils. During that same game,
Martin Brodeur tied the all-time NHL record for career wins with 551, tying Canadiens great Patrick Roy, who was in attendance at that game. Brodeur was given the first star of the game and received a standing ovation from his home province crowd. Alex Tanguay scored a season-high five points (two goals and three assists) on March 24 in a 6–3 win against the Atlanta Thrashers at the Bell Centre. Alexei Kovalev scored his 100th goal as a member of the Canadiens (and 23rd goal of the season) in a 4–1 win against the
Chicago Blackhawks on March 31.
April The Canadiens finished the regular season having tied the
Carolina Hurricanes for the most power play opportunities, with 374. ==Standings==