The severity of the wrist injury kept him out the entire 2002–03 season while he recovered and regained his strength. However, in 2003–04, Souray returned to play for the Canadiens and had a breakout season, amassing a surprising 15 goals and 35 points. He had exceeded expectations with the sudden development of his offensive game, especially given his reputation as a defence-first rearguard throughout his NHL career up to that point. This was of course possible because his powerful slapshot had returned along with his health, he was using his shot more often than ever before, and the Canadiens were giving him plenty of scoring opportunities by using him on the power play and increasing his overall ice time. During this season, he participated in the 2004 All-Star Game for the first time, and shared a win in the Skills Competition's hardest shot contest. Both he and Adrian Aucoin recorded blasts of 102.2 mph in the event. During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, he played for Färjestad BK of the Swedish Elitserien. While in Sweden, Souray wrote a correspondence in the "Montreal Gazette" with the assistance of hockey writer Dave Stubbs. The correspondence chronicled Souray's experience in a new country, and the different style of play that is popular overseas compared to the North American style of play. He also had the chance to represent his home country internationally by playing for Team Canada in the 2005 IIHF World Championships. Due to the lockout, this tournament featured a much higher percentage than usual of NHL players, of which Souray was one.