MONTREAL CANADIENS MILESTONES 2015-16

With the season seemingly around the corner, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some milestones that may be reached by Montreal Canadiens players in the 2015-16 season. Some are personal feats, others are club feats, either way they’re worth noting and represent some impressive milestones. When you’re examining such a storied franchise, club feats are always demanding excellence and longevity.

Here are my top 5 in no certain order. If you have any you’d like to add, feel free to do so as I may of missed a few of note.

1. Andrei Markov: Club Milestones

May 12, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Montreal Canadiens defenseman(79) skates in game six of the second round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena. The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated Montreal Canadiens 4-1 to win the series 4 games to 2. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

First and foremost, if Markov is able to suit up for a minimum of 71 games in 2015-16, he’ll have played the 2nd most games.

Current rankings:

Impact: There’s little doubt that Markov has been a rock for the Habs when healthy and proved a lot of people wrong when he was able to return from injury and provide a steadfast presence in front of Carey Price. Achieving this feat would place Markov solidly among the top defensemen of all time for the Habs. He already sits 3rd in points (492), well behind Guy Lapointe and Robinson.

Added to this feat is the possibility of Markov passing Lapointe to be second in PP goals. He currently sits at 55 while Lapointe has 57, and Robinson has 65. It would take one great season to pass them both, but two decent seasons could more feasibly get the job done.

2. Tomas Plekanec: Personal and Club feats

May 12, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Montreal Canadiens center(14) skates off following a 4-1 loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning in game six of the second round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

The first milestone Plekanec will reach is the 500 point plateau. It may not sound like much of a feat when you consider the all-time NHL greats, but only 22 Habs players have accomplished this feat as Habs, so he’s joining a pretty elite club.

Next on the list is his ability to leap up the all-time skaters scoring list of the club. If he is able to replicate his 60 point season, Plekanec will sit 18th overall with 559 points, passing Guy Carbonneau with 547 points and Toe Blake with 527 points.

Finally, Plekanec surprisingly sits in 3rd place for short-handed goals with 18. Only Bob Gainey (20) and Guy Caronneau (27) have more. There’s a chance he ties or gets by Gainey, but he’s unlikely to get passed Carbonneau’s impressive number.

Impact: All of these are pretty significant considering that he’s headed towards free agency next year and may wind up signing with another club. If he does re-sign with the Habs for a few more years, he could feasibly get into the top ten of all-time, making his career with the Habs a remarkable one.