The Montreal Canadiens’ modern history could have looked drastically different if a trade during the 2009 offseason hadn't been stopped at the finish line.
At the center of the rumored trade was Carey Price. He would go on to set the franchise record for games started (700) and wins (361) while winning the Vezina Trophy, Hart Memorial Trophy, and the Ted Lindsay Award in that remarkable 2014-15 season.
However, it seemingly got close at one point that Price's time with the Montreal Canadiens would end before it even really got started. Recently, former Lightning co-owner Oren Koules appeared on Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer and talked about an agreed-upon trade with the Canadiens that would have seen Price, among others, going to Tampa Bay for Vincent Lecavalier and Mike Smith.
"The trade stopped the league we did," Koules said. "What we negotiated was Carey Price, who was not their starting goalie in the playoffs that year in Montreal, and P.K. Subban, who was playing down in the minors at the time, [Tomas] Plekanec, [Chris] Higgins, and their first."
Koules provides background on why the Montreal Canadiens were looking to make a move and he noted that it was around the time that the Molson brothers were looking to buy the team.
"George Gillett, who owned Montreal at the time, was looking to sell them to Molson and was adamant to get the most prominent French player by a mile, which was the captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning."
Gary Bettman would step in and nullify the trade due to a potential owner change
While Koules doesn't explicitly say when this trade was being discussed, it sounds like it was leading up to the 2009-10 season. That summer, Higgins would end up being traded by the Canadiens to the New York Rangers, and the deal for the Molson brothers to buy the Canadiens came shortly after in October of that year.
Around the same time, Koules and his co-owner Len Barrie were struggling to work together and were heading for a split. At this time, they were both trying to figure out who could generate the funds needed to buy the other person out.
Koules explains that it was a potential buyer that Barrie had lined up that ultimately stopped the trade, as he wouldn't join the franchise without Lecavalier.
"Lenny was convinced, and not his fault as I think he was snaked by someone, who said he could afford to buy me out and buy out all the limited and keep him and Lenny in. However, he wanted Lecavalier and as part of the deal, Lecavalier had to stay," Koules said.
"Gary took him at his word, and I don't blame Gary, and the trade was nullified."
It is truly a remarkable story that could have drastically changed the direction of the Canadiens. Certainly, Carey Price was a major part of the team for nearly 15 seasons, but even P.K. Subban, who at the time had yet to make his NHL debut, would not have been a part of the team. The Canadiens would have missed out on his Norris Trophy season in 2012-13 if this trade had gone through.
At the time, Vincent Lecavalier was one of the best in the NHL and had a 52-goal season just two years prior. However, he didn't really match that level after that season and it is a trade that probably would not have worked out for Montreal in the long run.
Hindsight is always 20/20 but this is one instance where the Montreal Canadiens were fortunate to have the NHL commissioner step in to nullify the supposed trade.
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