Plekanec returns to Canadiens with winning attitude

MONTREAL -- Tomas Plekanec isn't certain what his role will be this season with the Montreal Canadiens. But the veteran center, who returned to Montreal on Sunday after a pit stop with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, is going to make sure he does his part to get the Canadiens back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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"Last year, from January on, we played almost for nothing, losing most of the games until the end of the year," said Plekanec of the team that went 29-40-13 and missed the playoffs for the second time in the past three seasons. "Nobody wants to be a loser.
"We'll come back in September and we'll be better players. … I really believe we can be a better team, a playoff team. And when you make the playoffs, everybody knows what can happen. Nobody can predict anything once you make the playoffs -- look at (Stanley Cup finalists) Washington and Las Vegas this year."
Plekanec signed a one-year, $2.25 million contract with the Canadiens. He returns to the only NHL organization he knew until Feb. 25, when he was traded to the Maple Leafs with forward Kyle Baun for forward Kerby Rychel, defenseman Rinat Valiev and a second-round pick (No. 58) in the 2018 NHL Draft that yielded center Jacob Olofsson.
Plekanec, 35, has played 981 regular-season games for the Canadiens, having made his NHL debut on Dec. 31, 2003 in a 1-1 tie at the Dallas Stars. He played 17 regular-season games for Toronto and seven games in Toronto's Eastern Conference First Round loss to the Boston Bruins.

His exit interview with Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin in February included mention of a possible return after July 1. When free agency opened at noon ET Sunday, the Canadiens announced that Plekanec was indeed returning to Montreal, where is wife, Lucie, and sons Matyas, almost 7, and Adam, 3, stayed while he played in Toronto.
Other teams expressed interest in Plekanec as free agency approached, but his desire was to return to Montreal.
"It was pretty easy," he said, saying that he greatly enjoyed his brief time with Toronto. "My priority was to come back here. It definitely wasn't about the (contract) number. I'm really happy to be back as part of the organization.

Plekanec is expected to play his 1,000th regular-season NHL game on Oct. 6 on the road against the Pittsburgh Penguins. His 1,000th game as a member of the Canadiens could come Nov. 15 in Calgary against the Flames, making the native of Kladno, Czech Republic the first Montreal player since Bob Gainey reached that milestone in 1986-87; Gainey was the Canadiens GM when Plekanec played his first NHL game.
Plekanec never dreamed of that kind of longevity when he was selected by the Canadiens in the third round (No. 71) of the 2001 NHL Draft.
"I'm happy and proud to have been part of the NHL for so long, and to be nearing 1,000 games with an organization like the Canadiens," he said.
Without yet having spoken with Claude Julien, who was his Canadiens coach when he broke into the NHL, Plekanec figures at least part of his role this season will be to mentor Montreal's younger players.

"It's kind of common sense," he said, speaking on his drive home following his formal session with Montreal media Sunday. "You get older, you get some experience, you see all the young kids around -- that's what happens with players like me. Playing in a market like Montreal isn't easy. Guys are always finding out, and especially after last year, how hard it is to play in a market like this. Because of that experience last season, they'll be that much better this year.
"It might have been my second season here that things didn't go that well," Plekanec said about 2006-07, when Montreal finished in fourth place in Northeast Division and missed the playoffs. "That made me a better player and a better person, and able to appreciate what I have in Montreal. That's going to be part of my role now, giving young guys any little detail that will help them grow into players and be part of this market for as long as they can, and being an NHL player anywhere else they might go."

In a couple of weeks, Plekanec and his family will head to the Czech Republic, training in Kladno for the 2018-19 season before returning to Montreal in August to get Matyas into the first grade and to get himself set for training camp.
When he was traded to Toronto, Plekanec left some things at Montreal's practice rink, telling equipment staff that he'd back to claim them in July no matter where he'd be playing. He laughed when it was suggested to him that he might want to check the bins designated for its used equipment sale.
"I told them to keep my No. 14 until July 1 before they gave it to someone else," he said. "I still have it. I think."