In the offseason before the 2009-10 NHL season, the Montreal Canadiens changed their identity. Saku Koivu led the charge for over a decade, but he left in free agency to sign with the Anaheim Ducks. Alexei Kovalev, who led the team in scoring three of the previous four seasons, moved to the province next door, signing with the Ottawa Senators. Fan favourites like Chris Higgins, Mike Komisarek, and Francis Bouillon all moved on during the offseason, and the Canadiens had to retool on the fly. Montreal brought in sniper Mike Cammalleri and veteran winger Brian Gionta, but the star new addition was two-time Stanley Cup champion Scott Gomez. Gomez's tenure in Montreal did not get off to a bad start, but the drop-off was quick and painful as Canadiens fans just had to sit and watch what would be considered one of the worst trades in franchise history.
How Gomez became a Canadiens player
While Gomez became a Canadiens player in the summer of 2009, the story does not fully start there. During his prime years with the New Jersey Devils, Gomez was an offensive catalyst for a team that prided itself on their defensive scheme. As a rookie, he finished second on the team in scoring, recording 70 points in 82 games, and was fourth on the Devils in playoff scoring with 10 points, helping them win a Stanley Cup. He helped the Devils win another Cup three seasons later. Gomez was a reliable point producer, a player who could be counted on to score 60 to 70 points a season, and set a career-high of 84 points in 2005-06. In the summer of 2007, Gomez left the Devils to sign a massive $51.5 million seven-year contract with the New York Rangers. That was the contract the Canadiens would later inherit.
Gomez spent just two years with the Rangers before the Canadiens came knocking, looking for a replacement for their long-time captain. Montreal still had Tomas Plekanec, but was in desperate need of a 1C. Rangers used that desperation to their advantage, moving off Gomez’s massive contract and fleeced the Canadiens in the process. On June 30th 2009, the Rangers traded Gomez, Michael Busto, and Tom Pyatt to the Canadiens in exchange for Doug Janik, Chris Higgins, Pavel Valentenko, and Ryan McDonagh. McDonagh turned out to be the prize of the trade, but that is a story for another day. Gomez was actually good in his first season in Montreal, finishing second on the team in scoring with 59 points, and was even better in the team’s playoff run, recording 14 points in 19 games as the Canadiens fell to the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference Final. However, it was all downhill from there.
Gomez's goal-less drought sparked memes in Montreal
The next season, Gomez’s point total fell off a cliff. He went from 59 points in 78 games to 38 points in 80 games. Gomez was never an elite goalscorer, as he was more of a creator than a sniper. He eclipsed the 20-goal plateau once in his career, scoring 33 during the 2005-06 season. You could rely on Gomez to score somewhere in the teens every season, but during his second season in Montreal, the goals completely dried up. On February 5th 2011, Gomez scored his seventh goal of the season, the last goal he would score for over a year. Gomez did miss time with injury, but still managed to appear in 60 of the Canadiens 90 games during that span. It got so bad that Canadiens fans created a website called DidScottGomezScoreLastNight.com.
It became a hot topic among Canadiens fans: when would Gomez finally end the goal drought? The day finally came late in the 2011-12 season, nearly to the day. In a game against the New York Islanders on February 9th 2012, with the Canadiens already up 2-0, Gomez picked up the rebound following a Raphael Diaz shot and wired his first goal in over a year. The streak was finally over. Gomez would go on to score only one more goal in a Canadiens sweater before being bought out of the remainder of his contract. The Gomez experience in Montreal did not go as the franchise would have hoped. He began a new wave of buyouts for veteran players who were underperforming on massive contracts. He did not leave Habs fans with tons of memories, but they all will remember the night Gomez finally scored a goal.
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