5 random players you forgot were on the Montreal Canadiens

Montreal Canadiens: Tomas Vokoun

Montreal’s ninth-round choice in the 1994 draft went on to wear the historic “CH” crest 80 times. But on 79 of those occasions, he was representing the AHL’s Fredericton Canadiens.

Vokoun’s lone call-up to the parent Habs lasted one period. On February 6, 1997, the 20-year-old rookie scraped the blue paint at Philadelphia’s CoreStates Center, blinked 25 seconds after the opening draw, and ultimately allowed four goals on 14 shots.

A then only slightly more experienced Theodore took over for the next two stanzas, and did not fare much better in an eventual 9-5 loss. Regardless, Vokoun went back to New Brunswick for the rest of that season and all of the following campaign.

By 1998, Vokoun’s original employers let him go to Nashville in the expansion draft. As a Predator, he seized his opportunity and played the majority of the franchise’s first two seasons in The Show. He remained an NHL staple for the next 13 years, culminating in the better part of a three-round playoff run with Pittsburgh.

Due to his long seasoning stay in the Habs’ system, though, Vokoun’s second NHL start came 21 months after his first. He faced his former team at his new home a month later, then finally played a game at Montreal’s Molson Centre on December 21, 2000.

As it happened, that too was an abbreviated outing and a no-decision. Vokoun came on to relieve Mike Dunham for the third period of a 4-2 Predators loss. He ultimately went a so-so 7-9-4 against the Canadiens, but logged a respectable 300 wins out of 700 games overall. He was also a three-time top-10 Vezina candidate with Nashville and once more with Florida.