Former Montreal Canadiens center Tomas Plekanec has announced his retirement from professional hockey due to injuries.
Since leaving the Montreal Canadiens just three games into 2018-19, he has spent the next six seasons playing in Czechia, helping his hometown team of Kladno earn promotion to the top league twice. He served as a veteran presence, providing his NHL experience while playing alongside his longtime friend, Jaromir Jagr.
With his retirement from playing the sport of hockey, it gives fans of the game an opportunity to look back at his impact on the game, the fans, and the city. For nearly two decades, he gave Montreal exciting moments and played a style of play that made him a fan favorite. Most of all, he left a legacy behind that still impacts the franchise today and is expected to for many seasons to come.
Plekanec’s Canadiens Tenure
Plekanec, who played 1,001 NHL games, 984 of those regular season games with the Canadiens, last suited up in the NHL during the 2018-19 season. Since leaving the NHL, he has played in Czechia, split between the Brno Kometa and, more recently, the Kladno Knights. Some may ask, what about the missing 17 games? Few fans want to remember his wearing the Toronto Maple Leafs sweater because of his trade to the rival club, but he did, very briefly. He re-signed with the Canadiens the following season to reach the 1,000-game mark and retire as a Montreal Canadien.
A third-round draft pick of the Canadiens in 2001, Plekanec became famous for his signature goatee and wearing a Canadiens-branded turtleneck throughout his career. Since his full-time arrival in 2005-06, Plekanec became an effective player, recording 47 points in his rookie season. He followed that up as he took a major development step into becoming a top two-way center in the NHL.
Plekanec had seven 20-goal seasons in his NHL career, five of those in consecutive seasons from 2006-07 through 2010-11. He led the Canadiens in points in two of those seasons. Tomas Plekanec was a consistent offensive producer, but it was his defensive play that provided the greatest value. During his NHL career, Plekanec had also built a highly respectable international career. He represented Czechia at two World Junior Championships (including the 2001 gold medal), eleven IIHF Men’s World Championships (winning two bronze and one silver medal), and two Winter Olympics.
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Fans will look back on his career and point to the 2009-10 season; Plekanec had the best season of his career, scoring 25 goals and 70 points. He was the underdog Canadiens’ top scorer going into a playoff that saw the team shock the hockey world by toppling two giants, the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals, both in a seven-game series en route to the Conference Finals. Providing Montreal, at that time, the deepest playoff run since their 1993 Stanley Cup championship. That season marked the beginning of a competitive era for the Canadiens that included three 100-plus point seasons, three division titles, and one more berth in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Canadiens Legacy
There is no question the greatest failure of each iteration of the Canadiens’ front office over the last 30 years has been the inability to find a top center. During Plekanec’s tenure with the Canadiens, the focus of the franchise had been defense. They drafted a franchise goaltender in Carey Price, focused on adding big-bodied stay-at-home defenders whose purpose was to keep the crease clear and add two-way forwards. In this environment, Plekanec was an essential piece, thriving in hotly-contested low-scoring games. These types of contests were a necessity for a franchise that had to scratch and claw for wins based not on pure skill but on hard work.
When Montreal traded Plekanec to Toronto, their historical rivals, his departure was bittersweet. While his play had been in decline for a few seasons, he was still seen as an important player for his defensive IQ and his leadership. Toronto needed these skills as they were desperate to win a playoff series, which they couldn’t do until 2023. However, he was full value in the playoffs, helping Toronto force a seventh game in the first round as he scored two goals and four points in the series.
For a few seasons, fans felt his $6 million cap hit was far too high for what he brought to the table. Despite being one of the league’s better shutdown centers, even as he neared NHL retirement, he was no longer capable of logging top-six minutes, playing on top lines, or filling a role on the power play. Yet, in his prime, he was one of the best two-way centres in the NHL. He was a wizard in the faceoff circle and provided offence at a reliable pace. He played an essential role on the power play, using his spot on the half wall to open space to allow Andrei Markov to make his magic happen. He was also essential for the penalty kill. In his peak, Plekanec was an offensive threat shorthanded, forced turnovers with regularity, and thrived in pressure situations. What players who line up against him will remember most is someone who pestered them, made it difficult for them to perform, and frustrated them on every shift.
His mentorship allowed for the emergence of Phillip Danault as the next two-way center to impact the Canadiens. His play as the top shutdown center helped lead Montreal to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1993. However, Plekanec’s larger legacy may be felt by the player’s then-general manager (GM) Marc Bergevin acquired from his trade to the Maple Leafs. His trade tree has an interesting branch. Staring with Rinat Valiev, who was dealt for Brett Kulak. Kulak was dealt to the Edmonton Oilers for a second-round pick, and that pick was then used by GM Kent Hughes to select Lane Hutson.
Plekanec gave fans in Montreal 15 years, 1,001 games, 233 goals, and 606 points that led to several successful seasons and unexpectedly long playoff runs. He is a beloved former player whose hockey IQ could one day allow him to return as a coach. Beyond being a player who helped define an era of Habs hockey, he was active in the community with many local Montreal charities and will always be welcomed back to the city that adopted him for all those years.