In 2003, the Canadiens drafted Andrei Kostitsyn 10th overall. That draft year was one of the best in history, but not for the CH. Indeed, drafting the Belarusian wasn't the club's best decision, but that's easy to say in hindsight. However, it's heartbreaking to see that Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Brent Burns, Brent Seabrook, Zach Parise and many others were still available. Of those available players, the other pick the Habs came close to taking was Jeff Carter, who went out at No. 11. The star player had a great career, and the Habs would have had their number-one center for all those years. Kostitsyn, on the other hand, no longer plays hockey and left the NHL in 2012. <q>I often spoke with people from the Canadiens, in 2003 and back then, [...] and at the draft table that night, the discussion revolved around Kostitsyn or Jeff Carter for the CH's 1st pick. They were hesitating between Carter and Kostitsyn. Well, obviously they didn't make the right choice. - Richard Labbé</q> <blockquote class=twitter-tweet><p lang=fr dir=ltr>In his column with <a href=https://twitter.com/MaxLalonde_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>@MaxLalonde_</a>, <a href=https://twitter.com/Richardlabbe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>@Richardlabbe</a> tells how Patrice Bergeron was never in the Canadiens' plans in the 2003 draft (even in the second round)!<br><br>The full segment.⬇️<a href=https://t.co/0ZQkP3lbmT>https://t.co/0ZQkP3lbmT</a> <a href=https://t.co/6IUicDh4pi>pic.twitter.com/6IUicDh4pi</a>- BPM Sports (@BPMSportsRadio) <a href=https://twitter.com/BPMSportsRadio/status/1684589732913618945?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>July 27, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src=https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js charset=utf-8>