A Winning Habit
Fansided

Montreal Canadiens: Five Former Habs Who Looked Odd In New Colors

ByKen MacMillan|
TORONTO, ON - JANUARY 28: Guy Lafleur #10 of the New York Rangers skates against the Toronto Maple Leafs during NHL game action on January 28, 1989 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Toronto tied New York 1-1. (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - JANUARY 28: Guy Lafleur #10 of the New York Rangers skates against the Toronto Maple Leafs during NHL game action on January 28, 1989 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Toronto tied New York 1-1. (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images)
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TORONTO, ON – APRIL 23: Tomas Plekanec #19 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates a goal against the Boston Bruins in Game Six of the Eastern Conference First Round in the 2018 Stanley Cup Play-offs at the Air Canada Centre on April 23, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Bruins 3-1.(Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – APRIL 23: Tomas Plekanec #19 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates a goal against the Boston Bruins in Game Six of the Eastern Conference First Round in the 2018 Stanley Cup Play-offs at the Air Canada Centre on April 23, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Bruins 3-1.(Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

5. Tomas Plekanec

Tomas Plekanec was never a superstar player for the Montreal Canadiens, but he did have a very long career with the Habs and was a steady, reliable two-way player for them for a long time. He was drafted by the Canadiens in the third round of the 2001 NHL Draft.

Plekanec played the first 981 games of his career with the Canadiens. This spanned from his debut in the 2003-04 season until he left Montreal at the trade deadline in 2018. In that time, he scored 232 goals and 605 points.

The Czech Republic’s best season came in 2009-10 when he put up 70 points. So, he was never an Art Ross candidate but he was a consistently great second line centre for the Habs during that nearly 15 year run with the Canadiens organization. Plekanec currently ranks 18th in goals scored in a Habs sweater and 13th in total points.

He was such a reliable, consistent player for so long that it was strange to see him leave town and play somewhere else. Making it even more odd was that he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Seeing Plekanec wear a Dallas Stars jersey or a Buffalo Sabres sweater would have been odd. Looking back at a picture of him wearing the blue Maple Leaf jersey is just weird.

Plekanec played 17 games with the Leafs that season and seven more playoff games. He had a couple goals in that playoff series against the Boston Bruins, but he re-signed with the Canadiens that summer. Plekanec played 1095 NHL games in his career. 1071 of them were with the Habs. The other 24 saw him wear a Maple Leafs sweater which still seems odd.

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