Drafted by the Montreal Canadiens way back in 1992, Craig Rivet was a fixture on the Canadiens blueline for most of his career. Not an offensive force by any means, Rivet still produced enough to get him a little bit of powerplay time during the prime of his career. Rivet somehow lasted on the Canadiens throughout the entire craptastic era under Rejean Houle, all the way through to the beginning of the resurgence under Bob Gainey. Rivet wasn’t a tough guy, but he stood up for teammates and did the little things you expect of guys playing on the second defense pairing. Perhaps the best contribution Rivet made to the Canadiens was to have a career year in 2005-06, which allowed the Canadiens to trade him the following year to the San Jose Sharks for the best return the Habs have received in a trade in over a decade in Josh Gorges and the 1st round pick that became Max Pacioretty.
Total Habs Stats
| Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| 653 | 39 | 112 | 151 | 795 |
When Mathieu Darche was signed as an unrestricted free agent in 2009, he was never meant to be a Montreal Canadien. he was signed as a big time AHL goal scorer that would shore up Hamilton’s offense, and perhaps be there as an emergency call up in case of injury woes. Injury woes there were in the 2009-10 season, and after being called up, Darche was never sent back down. Not only that, his solid play earned him coach Jacques Martin’s trust, and he earned himself some powerplay time and a one way contract. Darche overcame the odds for three seasons, although at 35 years old, time began to run out for the wily scorer and he was informed this summer that he would not be offered a one way contract. Darche couldn’t match his offensive numbers from two years ago, but his work while shorthanded was simply exceptional.
Total Habs Stats
| Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| 149 | 22 | 26 | 48 | 32 |
So Habs fans, who wore number 52 better?
| Craig Rivet | 98 |
| Mathieu Darche | 17 |
