You can’t really consider Montreal Canadiens goalie Cayden Primeau a third-string goalie. After all, if he was a third-string goalie, why would the Habs play him against one of the top projected teams in the league in the NHL in the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 24, leading to an almost-inevitable 5-2 loss at home?
You see, the Canadiens had visited the Buffalo Sabres the night before, winning a game they, as a team, probably had no business to, thanks to Jake Allen admirably standing on his head. So, considering they were playing their second game in 24 hours (with travel) and weren’t exactly their sharpest in the first half of the back-to-back set of games? There was no legitimate reason to think the Habs had a good shot against the Devils, who were relatively fresh, not having played in four days.
Primeau’s First Start of Season
Some may suggest that would have led to rust setting in, helping out the Canadiens. Okay… fine. What about the rust Primeau may have had, seeing as the Devils start had been his first game of the season? Granted, you have to play Primeau, who the Canadiens chose to keep up after training camp as a third goalie on the roster instead of exposing him to waivers, eventually. And, whenever you play him, rust will presumably be a factor, but, to play him against the Devils, who earned 112 points last season? When you have the 59-point Columbus Blue Jackets coming up in a few days?
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It’s a curious decision to say the least… one that might only have been justified if Samuel Montembeault were injured. However, nothing’s been reported to that effect. So, playing Primeau over Montembeault, the goalie who should be your No. 1 for all intents and purposes, makes zero sense.
Remember, Montembeault broke out in 2022-23. Despite a so-so general stat line, he was among the league leaders in terms of goals saved above expected. And, with his contract expiring, the Canadiens should be in the process of determining what they have in the pending unrestricted free agent, instead of regularly playing Allen. At 33, Allen isn’t exactly over the hill, but his best years are certainly behind him, with his stats having gotten worse each season he’s played for the Canadiens.
Unless you’re showcasing Allen for the purposes of a trade, he shouldn’t be playing as much as he is. And, for a second, forget how well Allen’s admittedly played so far (2-0-1, 2.58 goals-against average, .929 save percentage). Put that aside to objectively assess the situation. The Canadiens are still (re)building for the future. While they are understandably trying to be more competitive in the standings sure, going with the hot hand in Allen when Montembeault is presumably ready to go, coming off a season in which he posted better stats than former across the board, again makes zero sense.
On top of that, you’re talking about a career backup in Allen with a cap hit of $3.85 million. Any self-respecting team contending to so much as make just the playoffs would never trade for him to be their No. 1. They also wouldn’t trade for him to be their backup at that cost. And, if a non-playoff team is desperate enough for goaltending to go with Allen, they don’t exactly need someone who’s stealing points on the regular. They would just need a body. Anybody. So, showcasing him instead of playing Montembeault is the wrong decision.
Primeau Can Look to Montembeault as Muse
To be fair, the only reason anyone feels so strongly about this is because Montembeault emerged as a viable option in net last season after several seasons languishing fairly down the Florida Panthers’ depth chart (before the Canadiens claimed him). The Canadiens gave him a chance and he seized it to a degree. So, they wouldn’t be in this situation, determining who to play, had they not first put Montembeault in a position to succeed. So, give credit where it’s due.
However, Montembeault was handled with relative kid gloves last season, when he was still seen as Allen’s backup (almost universally). Only three of his first 15 games came against playoff-caliber competition and those three were each wild-card teams. Granted he also got early starts against the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins, teams some may have assumed would end up there in the end… but few would have predicted the Seattle Kraken or Winnipeg Jets, two of the playoff teams he did face, would make it. So, it evens out to a degree.
Ultimately, Montembeault faced less-than-stellar teams to start last season. Why give him the kid-glove treatment and not Primeau? Why feed Primeau to the lions… again? As it’s become something of a trend, dating back a few seasons at least to when the Canadiens gave him 12 games behind a last-place lineup.
Related: Canadiens’ Best Bet in Net Is Now Montembeault
Primeau obviously failed to capitalize on that opportunity. Keep in mind though, Carey Price, in the five games he got in that last season he played, was just 1-4 with a 3.63 GAA and .878 save percentage. It’s not like anyone put up or was capable of putting up great numbers in net that season.
Of course, as a professional hockey player, Primeau has to go when called. He’s up for the challenge. It’s his job to be ready. All of these things are true, but they can be just as true as the undeniable fact the Canadiens time and again have failed to put him in position to succeed.
Obviously, he’s not going to say as much, though. Would you? At this point, everyone should get it. The Canadiens seemingly don’t have long-term plans for Primeau. They’re realistically at the stage where they just don’t want to lose him on waivers for nothing. However, unlike Allen, Primeau is still young. Unlike Allen, Primeau is on a cost-effective deal. In a lot of ways, he’s more of a solution either for themselves or to market as part of a trade… unless you make Primeau appear incapable, whether it’s intentional or not.
Primeau vs. Allen
The funny thing is, Primeau played well against the Devils. He maybe wasn’t Allen-against-the-Sabres good, but well enough that, had he played that way under different circumstances, namely with a team in front of him at the top of its game, he could have realistically won. If the Canadiens do have designs on trading him, would it even be the best idea in such an instance, coming off an impressive win?
Maybe would-be suitors for Primeau’s services don’t care about the outcome per se, just how he performed overall. However, there’s a case to be made that he’s more valuable than Allen, at least for a team projected to be on the outside looking in the playoff picture. If the Canadiens come to the same conclusion, you’d think they’d want to build up his confidence. Truth be told, he could have more of a future with the Habs. They just need to let him.
Primeau’s obviously willing to do whatever it takes. You’d just think the Canadiens would be to make it work too… or at least more willing, because by all appearances they aren’t at all. Remember, they have one aging career backup on the team and another who’s a pending unrestricted free agent who a) still has a lot to prove in terms of his own ceiling and b) isn’t guaranteed to re-sign anyway. Going to reasonable lengths to explore Primeau as a possible long-term solution seems like an easy call. Of course, deciding against playing a young goalie the way they did against the Devils did too. So, who knows? Do the Habs?