The Montreal Canadiens organization is not shy to flaunt its vast history, and sing the praises of the legends who have worn the iconic sweater. But with over a century’s worth of records and milestones to reminisce about, what sometimes go unspoken are the additions to that rich lore being made in present times.
Andrei Markov has now played 862 games with the Canadiens. This places him 14th all-time for games played (fifth all-time for a defenseman). If he plays 56 more games this season he will pass Steve Shutt (871), Doug Harvey (890), Patrice Brisebois (896), Guy Carbonneau (912), and Serge Savard (917) to rise to ninth all-time (second all-time for defensemen). With 10 more assists he will also pass Guy Lapointe to be ranked number two in assists by a defensemen in the history of the team.
Like Markov, Tomas Plekanec has also spent his entire career with the Canadiens, and he currently sits tied with Guy Lapointe for 23rd in games played with 777. He only has to play 18 more games to move past Emile “Butch” Bouchard (785), Jean-Guy Talbot (791), Saku Koivu (792), and J.C. Tremblay (794) to rise to 19th all-time for games played.
With 514 total points, Plekanec can reasonably be expected to pass Bobby Rousseau (522), Toe Blake (527), and Guy Carbonneau (547) to become 18th all-time in total points. He’s also a known expert at killing penalties, and three more short-handed goals will propel him past Bob Gainey (20) for second all-time.
P.K. Subban sits a distant 31st in games played for a defenseman, yet he is already on the verge of cracking the top-10 for points, needing only five more points to surpass Jean-Guy Talbot (245). Additionally, as a reach goal for this season, if he can match his 60-point output of last season, he will pass Jacques Laperrière (282) in that same category, to reach eighth overall.
With 11 more goals, Subban will pass Sheldon Souray (62), Sylvio Mantha (63), Jim Roberts (63), and Mathieu Schneider (68) for ninth overall on the defensemen list.
However, when discussing milestones, one player is on the verge of immortality, and that is Carey Price. He already sits fourth in all-time wins (230) — ahead of venerable legends such as Bill Durnan (208) and Georges Vézina (175). If he can put together 29 more wins this season, he will pass Ken Dryden in this category.
Depending on his health, It would be fair to assume that Price will surpass both Patrick Roy and Jacques Plante in games played as well as wins over the next few seasons. At that point, the argument could be made that we should start talking of him as one of the very best the team has ever had.
