Montreal Canadiens: Five Best Draft Picks Since 2000

#5: Tie between Jaroslav Halak and Mark Streit

For many years now, the NHL Draft is a seven round affair. That was not the case in the past as the event would go on and one for twice that length many years ago. It has been shortened up over the years before landing on the seven round event it is now in 2005.

So, to say the Habs got great value when they selected Jaroslav Halak in the 9th round, 271st overall in 2003 and Mark Streit in the 9th round, 262nd overall in 2004 is an understatement.

Halak was playing Junior hockey in Slovakia when the Habs took a late chance on him. He was terrific at the World Under-18 Championships that year which put him on their radar. He worked him way up from the ECHL to the AHL before making his NHL debut with the Habs in 2006-07.

In four seasons with Montreal, Halak had a 56-34-7 record with a 2.62 GAA and a .919 SV%. He carried the team to the Eastern Conference Final in 2010 before being traded for Lars Eller. He still plays in the NHL and had a terrific season with the Boston Bruins.

Streit was 26 years old when he was drafted by the Habs. He would play three seasons in Montreal, scoring 25 goals and 109 points in 205 games as a hybrid winger-defenceman who was dynamite on the power play.

#4: Tomas Plekanec

Tomas Plekanec was playing pro in the Czech Republic as a teenager when the Habs drafted him in the 3rd round, with the 71st overall pick in the 2001 draft. Most third round picks are lucky to play more than 100 games in the NHL, but Plekanec would go on to play over 1000.

Plekanec played 15 seasons in Montreal, quickly earning a second line centre role with his consistent, solid two-way play. He settled into that role for over a decade and was a guy the Canadiens counted on when they were down a goal, up a goal or tied late in a game.

He was a leader who played in all situations and reached the 70 point plateau while garnering some Selke votes throughout his career. That is terrific value from a third round pick.

#3: P.K. Subban

The 2006-07 was a heartbreaker for the Montreal Canadiens as they missed the postseason by an inch after blowing a lead to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the final game of the year. They made it for it with one heck of a draft.

After taking Ryan McDonagh and Max Pacioretty in the first round, the Habs selected P.K. Subban in the second round with the 43rd overall selection. In hindsight, it is hard to believe he was still available as he had good size, terrific speed and put up 56 points in 68 games with the Belleville Bulls of the OHL in his draft year.

Subban went on to quickly become the Habs most trusted defenceman and won a Norris Trophy in 2013. He played seven seasons in Montreal, scoring 63 goals and 278 points in 434 games. He was third in Norris voting two years after winning the award as the league’s best defenceman.

#2: Brendan Gallagher

One thing stopped Gallagher from being drafted much earlier and that was his size. Though he is just 5’8″ he plays like a giant and brings everything he has on every shift. The Habs were wise enough to finally select him in the 5th round with the 147th overall pick in the 2010 draft. Gallagher had scored 41 goals and 81 points in 72 games for the Vancouver Giants that season.

Since then, he has become the heartbeat of the Habs. Gallagher has developed into a 30 goal scorer and brings a tenacity and determination that is contagious. Without him, the Habs would be a completely different team as he brings so much in terms of leadership and sets an example for every young player to follow in Montreal.

Gallagher has played eight seasons with the Canadiens and scored 173 goals and 334 points in 547 games. Most 5th round picks don’t play a single game in the NHL. For Gallagher to play well over 500 (and counting) and become a go-to guy for the team is far more than anyone could reasonably have expected on draft day.

#1: Carey Price

Most of the best draft picks are later ones that aren’t expected to do much at the NHL level, but they become impact players. Jaroslav Halak and Mark Streit were 9th round picks who become NHL mainstays for a decade or more, Gallagher was a 5th round pick who became a 30 goal scorer.

That doesn’t mean you can’t make a fantastic draft pick early in the draft. The Montreal Canadiens ended up with the 5th overall pick in the 2005 NHL Draft that took place after a cancelled 2004-05 NHL season due to the lockout.

Everyone knew that Sidney Crosby would be the first overall selection. After Bobby Ryan, Jack Johnson and Benoit Pouliot were selected, it seemed obvious that the Habs would select Gilbert Brule. The Edmonton native had scored 39 goals and 87 points in 70 games for the Vancouver Giants and was ranked as high as second by most draft pundits.

A draft eligible player finishing third overall in scoring in the tough WHL was a pretty enticing player. However, the Habs decided to pass on Brule to select goaltender Carey Price.

Since then, Price has become the cornerstone of the Montreal Canadiens franchise. He has played 682 games, winning 348 of them which is a franchise record for the Habs. He won the Hart Trophy, Vezina Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award in 2015 and is responsible for anything the team has accomplished in the past decade.

In an alternate universe, the Habs select Anze Kopitar with this pick and keep Halak as their goaltender. That would have been interesting. However, conventional wisdom at the draft would have seen them select Gilbert Brule who played 299 career NHL games, scoring just 32 points and now plays for the Kunlun Red Star in the KHL.

Taking Carey Price with the 5th overall pick in 2005 was a gutsy decision by Bob Gainey who was the team’s GM at the time. However, it was the best decision the Montreal Canadiens have made at the NHL Draft in, at least, the past 20 years.