Former Canadiens defenceman Sheldon Souray arguably played his best hockey during his Montreal tenure.
So, it comes as no surprise that he has nothing but good things to say about his six seasons in La Belle Province.
In a recent interview on former NHL enforcer John Scott’s podcast, Dropping the Gloves, Souray detailed the path from being a depth defenceman with the New Jersey Devils to achieving All-Star status with the Canadiens.
“I felt like when I got traded, someone believed in me,” he explained. “Once I got to Montreal, it was like, ‘I have an opportunity here to change my game a little bit.”
Plagued by injuries in his first few years with the team, Souray’s progression was slow at first. Worried about maintaining a spot in the NHL, the 47-year-old said he was determined to improve.
“My second full year there, I broke my wrist. I couldn’t get healthy,” he explained. “I’d just had my daughter (…), and the doctor says, ‘You might not play again.’ I’m like, well, I’m making a million dollars, I’m spending a million and two, I just had my kid. I’m going to play, right?”
Souray said he worked his “butt off” under the guidance of former coach Guy Carbonneau to get back to form. Practice paid off when a spot on the Habs’ powerplay opened up.
“They [the coaches] really dumbed down what I had to do. We just started having a little bit of luck, a little bit of chemistry, then all of a sudden, we’re on a heater,” Souray said. “Things just started going well.”
The Elk Point, Alberta, native also credits his former teammates with boosting his offensive stats.
“Anybody could score goals on the powerplay with Andrei Markov or Alexei Kovalev saucering you the puck,” he said. “We had just a bunch of great dudes. We weren’t the best team in the world, but we had [Saku] Koivu and Craig Rivet. We just had a lot of really good guys.”
Standing tall at 6-foot-4, the physical side of the blueliners’ game remained, but regularly scoring goals in front of the Bell Centre crowd encouraged him to adapt his playing style.
“People, obviously, they love a good fight. But they also love a slapshot in the top corner on the powerplay against the Toronto Maple Leafs on a Saturday night,” he said. “And that was a better feeling than having a good fight.”
Souray’s best career season came during his final campaign with Montreal in 2006-07. That year, he netted 26 goals and 64 points over 81 games.
He retired from the NHL following the 2012-2013 season. Over 758 games with five different teams, the offensive defenceman logged an even 300 points over his career.