Here is the Montreal Canadiens' all-star team of the last decade

PUBLICATION

Jeff Drouin
August 31, 2022 (3:52 PM)

SHARE THIS STORY

Over the last ten years, it's safe to say that the Habs have had their ups and downs. A Stanley Cup final in 2021, a conference final in 2014, individual honors, memorable trades, but also a disastrous season in 2021-2022 during which the team finished last in the NHL's overall standings.

Despite all that, several players will have made their mark on the last decade. As reported by Mark Suciu of Habsolumentfan.com, here's what the Habs' All-Star team might look like from the 2012-13 season.

Right wing: Brendan Gallagher

Let's start here with the guy who will have been without a doubt the Canadiens' spark plug over the past ten seasons. A fifth-round pick in 2010, the small forward has stood out with his fire and intensity. Although he has slowed down quite a bit over the past two years, #11 has scored a total of 194 goals and 381 points in 638 games, including two 30-goal campaigns in 2017-2018 and 2018-2019. A pretty obvious choice.

Left wing: Max Pacioretty

Another pretty obvious choice is the former #67 at left wing. Having four 30+ goal seasons in Montreal, Pacioretty finished first on the Habs' scoring charts for five consecutive seasons and was also the team captain before his exile to Las Vegas in September 2018. Let's just say that Habs fans have no regrets about his departure from Montreal, as a certain Nick Suzuki has come on board as a backup.

Center: Tomas Plekanec

Often criticized for his rather disappointing performances during the playoffs, the fact remains that the Czech forward was probably one of the most consistent players on the team before his departure in February 2018. Effective in many aspects of the game, Plekanec was an all-around player who wasn't always appreciated for his value. He had 608 points in 1,001 career NHL games. A player of rare reliability.

Left-handed defenseman: Andrei Markov

No surprise here! The Russian defenseman has not only been one of the best of the last ten years, but also one of the best backs in team history. He ranks third in team history among defensemen with 572 points in 990 games, behind Larry Robinson and Guy Lapointe. Too bad he had bad knees during the last years of his career. We still can't digest that Marc Bergevin let him go in the summer of 2017. Let's just say that this decision hurt the team a lot during the 2017-2018 season.

Right-handed defenseman: Shea Weber

This will certainly have been the toughest decision to pick Weber over P.K. Subban. Even though No. 76 won the Norris Trophy in 2013, the choice came down to Weber since the team reached the Stanley Cup Final with him as captain and he was a true leader at the blue line during his five seasons in Montreal. The number 6 scored 58 goals in 275 games while Subban scored 63 goals in 434 games, giving Weber a better average.

Goaltender: Carey Price

Probably the most unanimous All-Star pick. Like Markov, Price will have been one of the best at his position for most of his time with the Habs, leading in wins (361), games played (712) and coming in third in shutouts with 49. In 2014-2015, he had the season of his career, winning the Vezina Trophy, as well as the Ted Lindsay Trophy and the Hart Trophy. Too bad he didn't manage to add a Stanley Cup to an already storied career.

When you look at the Habs' all-star roster of the last ten years, only one of these players was not drafted by the team, Shea Weber. Maybe that means Trevor Timmins hasn't done such a bad job.

It will be interesting to do this exercise again in ten years, where probably a Nick Suzuki or a Cole Caufield could fit in this all-star lineup, but one thing is for sure, the goaltending position will be pretty hard to take.

What do you think?