Montreal Canadiens Players Seeking Career Milestones This Season

Sean Monahan

Sean Monahan has not been around the Canadiens as long as Gallagher, but he is another player who has battled several injuries throughout his career.

Monahan was not a late draft pick that was overlooked like Gallagher was. In fact, Monahan was taken 6th overall in his draft year by the Calgary Flames and immediately made the NHL roster the following October.

The 28 year old became something close to an iron man early in his career as he played 75 games as a rookie and then missed just two games over the next three seasons combined. He would then play seasons of 74, 78 and then 70 games though injuries were starting to pile up. He had a few injuries that slowed his production late in seasons but he delayed surgeries until the offseason so he would miss minimal time.

He was shut down early in the 2020-21 season as well as the following year and his point production dropped off as well. He had just 28 points in 50 games in 2020-21 and then 23 points in 65 games in what would be his final season in Calgary.

Last season, he scored six goals and 17 points in 25 games in what appeared to be a bounce back season, but he was then injured again and missed the remainder of the season.

Monahan had to undergo wrist surgery following the 2016-17 season. A year later he would have a total of four surgeries including his other wrist, groin and two herniated discs. He cracked his thumb late in the 2018-19 season. In the 2020-21 season, he suffered a hip injury early and had surgery in the offseason, and the following year he had surgery on his other hip.

After all of those injuries, Monahan is still just 28 years old and could reach the 700 game mark next season. He has played 681 so far, so he just needs to suit up for 19 games to get there. He also has 479 points and could reach the 500 point plateau if he notches 21 points in the upcoming season.

For a player who battled so many serious injuries throughout his career, it would be fantastic to see Monahan reach the 700 game mark shortly after turning just 29 years old. Hopefully, better health is in his future and he is able to blow past those milestones and continue piling up points and games played for another decade.

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