 After playing through injury in 2003 – 04 , Bégin underwent shoulder surgery that caused him to miss five months of playing time . When he returned to action , an ongoing labour dispute in the NHL led to his being assigned to the AHL 's Hamilton Bulldogs in February 2005 , with whom he was immediately counted upon to play a leadership role . Bégin returned to the Canadiens in 2005 – 06 and set career highs in goals ( 11 ) , points ( 23 ) and penalty minutes ( 113 ) . The Montreal media named him the recipient of the Jacques @-@ Beauchamp Molson Trophy , a team award given to a Canadiens ' player who played a " dominant role " with the team , without earning any other honours . Plagued by injuries , Bégin missed time due to rib and shoulder injuries . He appeared in only 52 games in 2006 – 07 and 44 games in 2007 – 08 and scored 18 points combined over the two seasons . 
