The 2000–01 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 92nd season of play. The club finished fifth in the Northeast Division and did not qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for a third consecutive season, marking the first such drought for the franchise since the 1919–20 season to the 1921–22 season .
Regular season After a loss to the Washington Capitals on November 17, the Canadiens had the worst record in the NHL. The two expansion teams, Minnesota and Columbus were ahead of them in the standings. After losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs on home ice on November 18, Rejean Houle and Alain Vigneault were fired.The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D'Arcy Jenish, p.294, Published in Canada by Doubleday, 2009, On November 20, Andre Savard was made the new general manager, while Michel Therrien of the Quebec Citadelles became the new head coach.The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D'Arcy Jenish, p.295, Published in Canada by Doubleday, 2009, Despite the changes, the Canadiens had one win, ten losses and two ties in the month of December. At the end of December, Dan O'Neill, president of Molson met with George N. Gillett, Jr. Gillett had shown interest in the Florida Panthers, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, and the Phoenix Coyotes.The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D'Arcy Jenish, p.296, Published in Canada by Doubleday, 2009, After the meeting, Gillett agreed to be the new owner. Gillett acquired the Molson Centre and eighty percent of the franchise for two hundred and seventy-five million dollars.The Montreal Canadiens:100 Years of Glory, D'Arcy Jenish, p.298, Published in Canada by Doubleday, 2009, February 13, 2001: Patrick Roy made his first visit to Montreal since breaking Terry Sawchuk's record for most wins by a goaltender. Roy had won 289 games with Montreal, and the Canadiens held a pregame ceremony for Roy.Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.457, by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, The Canadiens allowed the fewest short-handed goals during the regular season, with just three.
Final standings
Schedule and results
|1||October 6, 2000||4–8 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils||0–1–0–0||0 ||
|2||October 7, 2000||0–2 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs||0–2–0–0||0 ||
|3||October 10, 2000||5–2 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers||1–2–0–0||2 ||
|4||October 11, 2000||1–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers||1–3–0–0||2 ||
|5||October 14, 2000||5–4 OT|| align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks||2–3–0–0||4 ||
|6||October 17, 2000||4–3 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres||3–3–0–0||6 ||
|7||October 19, 2000||3–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers||3–3–1–0||7 ||
|8||October 21, 2000||5–2 || align="left"| Carolina Hurricanes||4–3–1–0||9 ||
|9||October 24, 2000||2–2 OT|| align="left"| Minnesota Wild||4–3–2–0||10 ||
|10||October 27, 2000||1–2 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders||4–4–2–0||10 ||
|11||October 28, 2000||1–2 || align="left"| New York Islanders||4–5–2–0||10 ||
|12||November 1, 2000||2–4 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings||4–6–2–0||10 ||
|13||November 3, 2000||4–5 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres||4–7–2–0||10 ||
|14||November 4, 2000||2–5 || align="left"| New York Rangers||4–8–2–0||10 ||
|15||November 8, 2000||4–2 || align="left"| @ Florida Panthers||5–8–2–0||12 ||
|16||November 10, 2000||1–3 || align="left"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning||5–9–2–0||12 ||
|17||November 11, 2000||0–2 || align="left"| @ Dallas Stars||5–10–2–0||12 ||
|18||November 14, 2000||0–1 || align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning||5–11–2–0||12 ||
|19||November 17, 2000||3–4 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals||5–12–2–0||12 ||
|20||November 18, 2000||1–6 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs||5–13–2–0||12 ||
|21||November 21, 2000||1–4 || align="left"| Florida Panthers||5–14–2–0||12 ||
|22||November 23, 2000||6–0 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Thrashers||6–14–2–0||14 ||
|23||November 25, 2000||3–5 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres||6–15–2–0||14 ||
|24||November 27, 2000||3–2 || align="left"| Atlanta Thrashers||7–15–2–0||16 ||
|25||November 29, 2000||3–2 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers||8–15–2–0||18 ||
|26||November 30, 2000||4–3 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks||9–15–2–0||20 ||
|27||December 2, 2000||1–1 OT|| align="left"| @ Calgary Flames||9–15–3–0||21 ||
|28||December 5, 2000||2–3 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres||9–16–3–0||21 ||
|29||December 8, 2000||0–1 || align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators||9–17–3–0||21 ||
|30||December 9, 2000||2–4 || align="left"| Ottawa Senators||9–18–3–0||21 ||
|31||December 13, 2000||1–3 || align="left"| Calgary Flames||9–19–3–0||21 ||
|32||December 15, 2000||1–2 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils||9–20–3–0||21 ||
|33||December 16, 2000||4–4 OT|| align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins||9–20–4–0||22 ||
|34||December 18, 2000||0–2 || align="left"| Columbus Blue Jackets||9–21–4–0||22 ||
|35||December 21, 2000||4–2 || align="left"| Nashville Predators||10–21–4–0||24 ||
|36||December 23, 2000||2–5 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs||10–22–4–0||24 ||
|37||December 27, 2000||2–3 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks||10–23–4–0||24 ||
|38||December 30, 2000||2–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers||10–23–4–1||25 ||
|39||December 31, 2000||4–5 OT|| align="left"| @ Calgary Flames||10–23–4–2||26 ||
|40||January 2, 2001||3–0 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders||11–23–4–2||28 ||
|41||January 5, 2001||4–3 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins||12–23–4–2||30 ||
|42||January 6, 2001||3–4 || align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators||12–24–4–2||30 ||
|43||January 10, 2001||1–2 || align="left"| Boston Bruins||12–25–4–2||30 ||
|44||January 12, 2001||3–0 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Thrashers||13–25–4–2||32 ||
|45||January 13, 2001||5–2 || align="left"| Phoenix Coyotes||14–25–4–2||34 ||
|46||January 16, 2001||2–3 OT|| align="left"| Carolina Hurricanes||14–25–4–3||35 ||
|47||January 18, 2001||3–1 || align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning||15–25–4–3||37 ||
|48||January 20, 2001||2–2 OT|| align="left"| New York Rangers||15–25–5–3||38 ||
|49||January 23, 2001||2–5 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues||15–26–5–3||38 ||
|50||January 24, 2001||1–3 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins||15–27–5–3||38 ||
|51||January 27, 2001||4–2 || align="left"| Washington Capitals||16–27–5–3||40 ||
|52||January 28, 2001||4–1 || align="left"| Ottawa Senators||17–27–5–3||42 ||
|53||January 31, 2001||2–4 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers||17–28–5–3||42 ||
|54||February 1, 2001||3–0 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins||18–28–5–3||44 ||
|55||February 6, 2001||0–4 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils||18–29–5–3||44 ||
|56||February 10, 2001||5–3 || align="left"| New York Islanders||19–29–5–3||46 ||
|57||February 11, 2001||4–3 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres||20–29–5–3||48 ||
|58||February 13, 2001||2–3 OT|| align="left"| Colorado Avalanche||20–29–5–4||49 ||
|59||February 17, 2001||3–6 || align="left"| Washington Capitals||20–30–5–4||49 ||
|60||February 18, 2001||0–4 || align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators||20–31–5–4||49 ||
|61||February 21, 2001||1–2 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks||20–32–5–4||49 ||
|62||February 23, 2001||1–3 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals||20–33–5–4||49 ||
|63||February 24, 2001||1–5 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs||20–34–5–4||49 ||
|64||February 27, 2001||3–2 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers||21–34–5–4||51 ||
|65||February 28, 2001||4–2 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins||22–34–5–4||53 ||
|66||March 3, 2001||3–1 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers||23–34–5–4||55 ||
|67||March 6, 2001||3–4 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings||23–35–5–4||55 ||
|68||March 7, 2001||2–4 || align="left"| @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim||23–36–5–4||55 ||
|69||March 10, 2001||3–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Phoenix Coyotes||23–36–6–4||56 ||
|70||March 12, 2001||0–3 || align="left"| @ San Jose Sharks||23–37–6–4||56 ||
|71||March 14, 2001||6–3 || align="left"| @ Carolina Hurricanes||24–37–6–4||58 ||
|72||March 17, 2001||2–3 || align="left"| Boston Bruins||24–38–6–4||58 ||
|73||March 20, 2001||3–3 OT|| align="left"| Florida Panthers||24–38–7–4||59 ||
|74||March 22, 2001||2–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Boston Bruins||24–38–7–5||60 ||
|75||March 24, 2001||2–3 || align="left"| Atlanta Thrashers||24–39–7–5||60 ||
|76||March 26, 2001||4–2 || align="left"| @ Carolina Hurricanes||25–39–7–5||62 ||
|77||March 28, 2001||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Florida Panthers||25–39–8–5||63 ||
|78||March 29, 2001||6–2 || align="left"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning||26–39–8–5||65 ||
|79||March 31, 2001||4–1 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs||27–39–8–5||67 ||
|80||April 2, 2001||2–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Boston Bruins||27–39–8–6||68 ||
|81||April 5, 2001||3–2 OT|| align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers||28–39–8–6||70 ||
|82||April 7, 2001||0–2 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils||28–40–8–6||70 ||
Legend:
Player statistics
Scoring Position abbreviations: C = Centre; D = Defence; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only. = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only. Player Regular season 11 C 54 17 30 47 2 40 32 RW 81 17 30 47 −11 24 49 LW 62 21 24 45 −13 26 26 LW 57 16 22 38 −5 66 43 D 77 15 21 36 −31 28 14 RW 57 12 21 33 −2 52 63 C 78 12 16 28 −17 16 25 LW 43 9 16 25 −1 34 22 D 60 6 19 25 −1 34 15 C 49 12 12 24 −7 30 79 D 63 6 17 23 −6 18 8 RW 57 9 11 20 −3 53 37 C 52 9 11 20 1 13 28 D 67 8 9 17 9 44 17 LW 35 3 11 14 −4 12 56 D 65 6 6 12 0 14 78 C 51 4 7 11 −9 43 44 D 52 3 8 11 −11 95 34 C 32 1 10 11 −15 8 20 RW 12 3 6 9 −2 10 47 C 47 3 4 7 −4 4 51 D 29 0 6 6 3 26 88 C 14 3 2 5 −5 6 45 RW 46 2 3 5 −9 59 54 D 19 2 3 5 −8 10 38 C 12 0 5 5 −1 0 40 LW 13 1 3 4 0 0 52 D 26 1 2 3 −8 36 20 C 20 1 2 3 −1 32 35 LW 18 0 3 3 −2 0 24 D 39 0 3 3 −11 42 55 D 5 1 1 2 −2 4 39 LW 26 1 1 2 0 6 29 RW 13 1 0 1 0 44 60 G 59 1 0 1 6 31 G 19 0 1 1 0 29 D 7 0 1 1 −4 6 23 LW 10 0 0 0 −3 29 83 LW 3 0 0 0 0 0 39 D 3 0 0 0 −1 14 41 G 2 0 0 0 0 30 G 11 0 0 0 0 46 C 6 0 0 0 −2 2 71 C 2 0 0 0 0 2 38 D 2 0 0 0 −1 2 61 RW 12 0 0 0 3 12
Goaltending Player Regular season 60 Jose Theodore 59 20 29 5 1546 141 2.57 .909 2 3298 30 Mathieu Garon 11 4 5 1 233 24 2.44 .897 2 589 31 Jeff Hackett 19 4 10 2 477 54 3.25 .887 0 998 41 Eric Fichaud 2 0 2 0 32 4 3.87 .875 0 62
Awards and records
Awards TypeAward/honourRecipientRef League(in-season) NHL Player of the Week Trevor Linden (October 23) Team Jacques Beauchamp Molson Trophy Oleg PetrovMontreal Canadiens 2014–2015 Media Guide, p.553 Molson Cup Jose TheodoreMontreal Canadiens 2014–2015 Media Guide, p.552
Milestones MilestonePlayerDateRef First game Mathieu Garon October 6, 2000 Andrei Markov Eric Chouinard January 16, 2001 Matthieu Descoteaux February 11, 2001 Francis Belanger February 17, 2001
Transactions The Canadiens were involved in the following transactions from June 11, 2000, the day after the deciding game of the 2000 Stanley Cup Final, through June 9, 2001, the day of the deciding game of the 2001 Stanley Cup Final.
Trades Date Details Ref To Montreal Canadiens To Columbus Blue Jackets To Montreal Canadiens To Anaheim Mighty Ducks To Montreal Canadiens To Pittsburgh Penguins To Montreal Canadiens To Buffalo Sabres To Montreal Canadiens To Philadelphia Flyers To Montreal Canadiens To Edmonton Oilers To Montreal Canadiens To Boston Bruins To Montreal Canadiens To Washington Capitals
Players acquired