Perhaps one of the most divisive Montreal Canadiens in the post-Roy era, Vladimir Malakhov was a good to very good defenseman who played several good years for the Montreal Canadiens. Never a stranger to controversy, Malakhov found it whether it was his fault or not. He was traded to Montreal from the New York Islanders with Pierre Turgeon, in exchange for current Habs captain Kirk Muller, which would have been controversial enough as he was well loved, but also included Mathieu Schneider, a top defenseman at that point in his career, and Craig Darby. His next bought with controversy was when he was caught skiing while out of action with a knee injury. He was soon traded to the New Jersey Devils. Later in his career, during his second stint with the Devils, Malakhov retired mid-season after signing a 35+ contract, which handcuffed the Devils. Malakhov's agent claimed it was a leave of absence, which GM Lou Lamoriello disputed. Nevertheless, Malakhov was a solid defenseman who made the teams he played on better.

Jan Bulis came to Montreal as part of the package that the Washington Capitals paid to get Dainius Zubrus and Trevor Linden. Also coming along with Bulis were Richard Zednik and the draft pick that became Alexander Perezhogin. Bulis played in some lean years for the Canadiens, and managed two 40 point seasons when it was a rare thing for a Canadiens forward to have. His first 40 point season ranked him 4th on the Canadiens in scoring in 2002-03.