He improved to a new personal best of 79 points in , good enough for ninth place in league scoring, while his 54 assists tied him for fourth in the NHL. The league named him to the Western Conference team at the 2004 All-Star Game. While the season was cancelled by a labour dispute, Tanguay signed to play for HC Lugano of the Swiss National League A. He appeared in six games with Lugano, scoring six points. He returned to the Avalanche in , and despite missing ten games late in the year with a knee injury, set a personal best with 29 goals, while his 78 points was one short of his career high. Tanguay scored two goals in an April 15, 2006, game against the Vancouver Canucks to reach 400 points for his career.