Patrice Brisebois was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, 30th overall. His junior days saw him play for the AHL Fredericton Canadiens, QMJHL Drummondville Voltigeurs and Laval Titan. Brisebois's junior career was an unqualified success. In 1990-91, he captured the Emile "Butch" Bouchard Trophy awarded to the best defencemen in the QMJHL, was named to the QMJHL All-Star team, and took home the award for the CHL's Best Defencemen.

 

He played for the Canadiens for 14 seasons, winning one Stanley Cup with the franchise during the 1992-93 season. By 1999, Brisebois had become a staple of the Habs defence, specifically as their power play anchor. "Breeze" was rewarded for his strong play with a hefty $4 million a year contract.

 

Brisebois soon thereafter began to have a falling out with the general Montreal public. With his hefty contract came a plethora of expectations and the general consensus was that Brisebois was not living up to his pay. Furthermore, Brisebois's risky style of offensive defense became a topic of heavy discussion in the city. By the 2002 campaign, Brisebois had become the whipping boy of the Montreal fanbase and press alike, with chants of 'Breeze-Bye' and 'Breeze-Boo' aplenty. Throughout most of the 2002 season, he was booed heavily by Montreal fans. In the early 90's Brisebois was scolded by Hab's coach Pat Burns for making too many charity appearances during the season as he felt that Brisebois was becoming worn down by not being able to say "no".

 

Brisebois remained in Montreal through the end of the 2004-2005 season, but in the 2005 off-season, he signed a 2-year, $4.5 million US contract with the Colorado Avalanche. He missed the majority of the 2006-07 season due to a severe back injury, and by the end of his tenure in Colorado, many Avalanche fans' opinion of Brisebois had begun to sour. In the 2007 off-season, Avalanche GM Francois Giguere informed Brisebois that they were not going to offer him a contract to stay in Colorado, and he became an unrestricted free agent.

 

On July 28th, Le Journal de Montréal reported that Bob Gainey had offered Brisebois a one-year, $700,000 contract with the Canadiens, which he accepted on August 3rd.