The spring of 2010 reminded everyone what makes Montreal a special place to play hockey for a living.



The Canadiens did not win the Stanley Cup, but for a younger generation of fans who had no memory of the 1993 championship, let alone the dynasty of the 1970s or even the Patrick Roy rookie miracle Cup in 1986, that was no longer the baseline measurement. The spring of 2010 represented the most thrilling Canadiens playoff run those fans had ever seen.



That is how this decade began for the Canadiens, with their longest playoff run since that now mythical 1993 Cup, fuelled by a goaltending performance that was at least reminiscent of what Roy had pulled off 17 years earlier. No, Jaroslav Halak did not bring Montreal its 25th Stanley Cup championship, but he gave a generation of Canadiens fans something they had never felt before. The stop signs. The hysteria. The entire city in rapture.



Then, just like that, Halak was gone, paving the way for the decade of...