Before the start of the season, many predicted a strong showing from the Canadiens due to the team possessing a healthy Saku Koivu as well as last season's Hart Memorial Trophywinner, Jose Theodore. The team was.500 for the first two months of the season and showed little improvement in December. Players such as Mariusz Czerkawski, added to the lineup during the summer, and Donald Audette were slow to produce offence for the team, and the two forwards were both sent down for brief stints in the minors. For his part, Jose Theodore's performance is not up to par with his dream season of a year earlier. Despite the strong seasons from Koivu, Richard Zednik and Yanic Perreault, the Canadiens slid to 11th place in the Eastern Conference in mid-January. This losing streak prompted General ManagerAndre Savard to fire head coachMichel Therrien and replace him with Claude Julien, who filled the same role behind the bench of the Habs' American Hockey League affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs. Despite Julien's arrival as head coach, the team was unable to improve its situation. The Habs saw their playoff hopes evaporate with a nine-game winless streak that ended in early March. Despite Saku Koivu's 71 points and Richard Zednik's 31 goals, the Canadiens missed the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons. The Canadiens ended with a record of 30–35–9–8, and former MVP Theodore had a disappointing season with a record of 20–31–6. The Canadiens finished the regular season tying the Nashville Predators for the fewest short-handed goals scored, with just two.
Before the start of the season, many predicted a strong showing from the Canadiens as a result of a healthy Saku Koivu and last season's Hart Memorial Trophy winner, Jose Theodore. The team was.500 for the first two months of the season and showed very little improvement in December. Players such as Mariusz Czerkawski, added to the lineup during the summer, and Donald Audette were slow to produce offence for the team, and the two forwards were both sent down for brief stints in the minors. Moreover, Jose Theodore's performances were not up to par with his MVP-winning season of a year earlier. Despite strong seasons from Koivu, Richard Zednik and Yanic Perreault, the Canadiens slid to 11th place in the Eastern Conference in mid-January. This losing streak prompted General Manager Andre Savard to fire Head Coach Michel Therrien and replace him with Claude Julien, who filled the same role behind the bench of the Habs' American Hockey League affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs. Despite Julien's arrival, the team was unable to improve its situation and improve its collective effort. The Habs saw their playoff hopes evaporate with a nine-game winless streak that ended in early March. Despite Saku Koivu's 71 points and Richard Zednik's 31 goals, the Canadiens missed the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons. ;Scoring
