A Winning Habit
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Montreal Canadiens: Five Best Free Agent Signings Since 2000

By Ken MacMillan

MONTREAL, CANADA - OCTOBER 22: Mike Cammalleri #13 misses a shot on net on a pass by teammate Brian Gionta #21 of the Montreal Canadiens in front of Jonas Gustavsson #50 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during the NHL game at the Bell Centre on October 22, 2011 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, CANADA - OCTOBER 22: Mike Cammalleri #13 misses a shot on net on a pass by teammate Brian Gionta #21 of the Montreal Canadiens in front of Jonas Gustavsson #50 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during the NHL game at the Bell Centre on October 22, 2011 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 16: Alexander Radulov #47 of the Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 16: Alexander Radulov #47 of the Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

#5: July 5, 2001: Yanic Perreault signs three-year $8.4 million contract

The Montreal Canadiens were in a bad way around the turn of the century. For the first time since 1922, they had missed the postseason for three consecutive seasons. Oleg Petrov and Saku Koivu had tied for the team lead in scoring with 47 points in 2000-01 and Brian Savage was the only player to score more than 20 goals. He had 21. They had fired head coach Alain Vigneault and general manager Rejean Houle.

The team clearly needed some scoring punch and help pretty much everywhere. One player they turned to was a local veteran, Yanic Perreault. The Sherbrooke, Quebec native had just scored 24 goals and 52 points for the Toronto Maple Leafs and elected to take a three year deal with his hometown team.

It was expected Perreault would play a second line role but just before training camp began, Saku Koivu was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Koivu would miss all but the final three games of the season and this elevated Perreault into a huge role for the Habs.

Perreault was great that year, leading the team with 27 goals and setting a career high with 56 points. The second highest scorer on the team, Richard Zednik, had 44 points. The Habs squeezed into the postseason in 2002 and though most of the credit goes to Jose Theodore for him Hart Trophy season, the Canadiens wouldn’t have been in the playoff race without Perreault.

Perreault scored 24 goals and 46 points the following year, before dropping to 16 goals and 31 points in 69 games during his third and final year with the Habs. He was playing a third like role by then behind Koivu and Mike Ribeiro, so his numbers look pretty good when you consider he was a third line player.

#4: July 1, 2016: Alex Radulov signs one-year $5.75 million contract

The Canadiens general manager, Marc Bergevin was actually criticized quite a bit for giving Alex Radulov so much money after he bolted from the Nashville Predators twice and played most of the past eight years in the KHL.

Radulov showed up and was excellent for the Habs. He brought a terrific effort and an unparalleled enthusiasm to the ice every night and was third on the team in goals with 18 and second in points with 54. He was great on a top line with Max Pacioretty, doing a lot of the heavy lifting and work in the dirty areas to create chances for his sniping linemate.

Radulov proved worthy of every penny he earned from the Montreal Canadiens. The only problem with this contract is that is what not nearly long enough. Signing him to a three or four year deal straight out of Russia would have proven to be genius.

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