The Gainey Regime 2007-08: Year Four
2007-08 final roster: 30 players
Alex Kovalev, Tomas Plekanec, Mark Streit, *Andrei Markov, Saku Koivu, *Andrei Kostitsyn, Christopher Higgins, Michael Ryder, *Sergei Kostitsyn, *Guillaume Latendresse, *Roman Hamrlik, Bryan Smolinski, *Maxim Lapierre, Mike Komisarek, Mathieu Dandenault, Tom Kostopoulos, *Kyle Chipchura, Patrice Brisebois, *Josh Gorges, Mikhail Grabovski, Francis Bouillon, Steve Begin, *Ryan O' Byrne, *Gregory Stewart, Garth Murray, *Matt D' Agostini, Corey Locke, Cristobal Huet, *Carey Price, and *Jaroslav Halak.
Dearly departed
10 players not returning from the 2006-07 roster are Sheldon Souray (signed as a FA by Edmonton July 12, 2007), Mike Johnson (signed as a FA by St. Louis October 4, 2007), Sergei Samsonov (traded to Chicago June 16, 2007), Radek Bonk (signed as a FA by Nashville July 2, 2007), Craig Rivet (traded to San Jose February 25, 2007), Alexander Perezhogin (signed as a FA by Salavat Yulayev of the KHL), Janne Niinimaa (signed as a FA by HC Davos of Swiss Elite League), Aaron Downey (signed as a FA with Detroit October 3, 2007), Duncan Milroy (signed as a FA by Ingolstadt ERC), David Aebisher (signed as a FA by Phoenix July 17, 2003).
2007-08 Players stats/ Canadiens games / NHL Season Summary
May 31 - Canadiens sign F Janne Lathi (-H) as a FA.
May 31 - Canadiens acquire F Ryan Russell (+H) from New York Rangers for 2007 7th round pick (David Skokan).
June 16 - Canadiens trade F Sergei Samsonov (-M) to Chicago Blackhawks for D Jassen Cullimore (--) and F Tony Salmelainen (--).
2007 Draft: 9 players selected
Rd 1 # 12 - Ryan McDonagh D (P) - Cretin-Derham HS
Rd 1 # 22 -* Max Pacioretty* F - Sioux City (USHL). Pick acquired in trade with San Jose.
Rd 2 # 43 - P.K. Subban D (P) - Belleville (OHL)
Rd 3 # 65 - Olivier Fortier F (P) - Rimouski (QMJHL). Pick acquired in trade with Washington.
Rd 3 # 73 - *Yannick Weber D (+MH)- Kitchener (OHL)
Rd 5 # 133 - Joe Stejskal D (P) - Grand Rapids (Minn. H.S.)
Rd 5 # 142 - Andrew Conboy F (+H) - Omaha (USHL). Pick acquired in trade with Dallas.
Rd 6 # 163 - Nichlas Torp D (P) - HV 71 Jr. (Sweden)
Rd 7 # 192 - Scott Kishel D (P) - Virginia (USHSW). Pick acquired in trade with Carolina.
Free agency and season's transactions
June 23 - Canadiens trade G Michael Leighton (--) to Carolina for 2007 7th round pick, D Scott Kishel, (P).
July 2 - Montreal signs D *Roman Hamrlik as a FA.
July 2 - Montreal signs F Bryan Smolinski (-M) as a FA.
July 4 - Montreal signs F Tom Kostopoulos (-M) as a FA.
July 5 - Montreal signs D Jamie Rivers (--) as a FA. Rivers did not honour his contract and signed with Spartak Russia.
July 7 - Canadiens sign D Marvin Dregon (-H) as a FA.
August 3 - Montreal signs D Patrice Brisebois as a FA.
November 13 - Forward Garth Murray (-MH) claimed on waivers by Florida Panthers.
February 7 - Canadiens sign F Brock Trotter (+H) as a FA.
February 8 - Canadiens acquire F Brett Engelhardt (-H) from Red Wings for D Francis Lemieux (-H).
February 26 - Canadiens trade G Cristobal Huet (-MH) to Washington for 2009 2nd round pick (previously acquired from Anaheim, later traded to Atlanta for D Mathieu Schneider - Jeremy Morin LW).
(*) denotes players currently on the Canadiens NHL roster.
(+H) denotes players currently on the Hamilton Bulldogs AHL roster.
(+HM) denotes players currently on the Hamilton roster who have played with Montreal.
(P) denotes prospects who have yet to sign a professional contract (NHL, AHL, or ECHL) with the organization.
(-M), (-H) and (-MH) denote players no longer in the organization who have played either in Montreal, Hamilton, or both.
(--) denotes a player who has never played in Montreal or Hamilton. The final group likely never signed a professional contract with the club and were simply not retained by the organization. A final tally of each category will follow these chronological yearly listings.