Good news Montreal Canadiens fans, your prospect pool is one of the best in the NHL. It has depth at nearly every position, especially on the wing and at left defense. Yet not all the news is good, there are still some deficiencies. Even with David Reinbacher and Juraj Slafkovsky having the top-end potential to get there, no surefire “elite” level prospect is seen as a future superstar.
Related: 3 Montreal Canadiens Predictions for the 2023-24 Season
Another area of legitimate concern is in goal. This may be why general manager (GM) Kent Hughes focused on goaltending at the 2023 Draft table adding three more goaltending prospects to his cupboard. This is where the Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks can help each other.
Canadiens’ NHL Goaltending
As of the writing of this article, the Canadiens have three legitimate NHL goaltenders in Samuel Montembeault, Jake Allen, and Casey DeSmith. One of those three will be traded by the start of training camp.
The current view is that Montembeault holds the most promise to be able to be a 1A starter or at the very least capable of being a middle-tier starter in the NHL. But that is only if his progression continues the upward trajectory he has seen since arriving in Montreal via waivers in the 2021-22 season. His save percentage (SV%) is .901, which is not ideal but needs to be taken in the context of what kind of team he played behind, a team that spent nearly the entirety of the year with a dozen American Hockey League (AHL) callups and five rookies on defense.
Among goaltenders who started 40 games or more in 2022-23, Montembeault was in the top 10 among goaltenders in goals saved above expected, sitting 10th with 11.1, which does indicate that he was able to be a difference-maker in games, even on a weak team. At 26 years of age, he is just entering the prime of his career and does show promise of more. However, his ceiling is not of an elite starter, but a serviceable one.
At 33 years old, Allen is on the downward side of his career, but he is still a very capable NHL backup who can be relied upon as a starter in case of injuries. In 2021, he started the bulk of the regular season games during the COVID-19-shortened season to help Montreal earn the final playoff spot in the Scotiabank North Division.
DeSmith, at 32 is at a similar level to Allen, ideally suited to playing a backup role. His numbers when playing at a 30-game pace are very strong, providing a SV% of approximately .915. It’s when he is relied on to play beyond that threshold that his numbers fall. When forced to start 38 or more games, his SV% drops to approximately .905. While that is still a respectable number, it does demonstrate that he has difficulty when relied upon almost nightly.
Canadiens’ Goaltending Prospects
When it comes to prospects, Cayden Primeau is still at the head of the class. He has had ups and downs so far in his career, from having difficulties in the NHL to inconsistent play at the AHL level, but showing promise while carrying the Laval Rocket to a Game 7 overtime loss in the Eastern Conference Final in 2022.
Jakub Dobes is the next NCAA star to step up in the system. White at Ohio State University, he became their only starter, as they relied on his stellar play to compete in their conference. He will begin his professional career in 2023-24 as the expected backup in Laval behind Primeau, that is if Primeau doesn’t somehow steal an NHL job or clears waivers. The top prospect not under contract is 2023 third-round pick Jacob Fowler. There is a lot to like about this addition as he has the potential of an NHL starter. His high hockey IQ makes him positionally strong, he controls the puck well, has excellent rebound control, and has the athleticism to recover when out of position. Most of all, he has “big game” abilities as he plays his best in the playoffs, which is an important aspect for the Canadiens.
Canucks & Canadiens Helping Each Other
So where is it that the Canucks can help the Canadiens? Obviously, in their goaltending prospect pool. While the names mentioned above have some promise, there are still no guarantees of success. With goaltenders, the more you have, the likelier it will be one will make it as a starter.
The Canucks don’t have a logjam of goaltenders, but they do have a young starter in Thatcher Demko who is expected to be their franchise goaltender for many years. Also, to help lead them into the playoffs in 2023-24. Their GM has set his sights on that this season, noting how close they were last year.
“The Canucks talented core were only five or six wins away from making the playoffs”
– Patrick Allvin
So, who is it the Habs should target? Arturs Silvos. At 6-foot-4, the Latvian-born goaltender has the size goaltenders need to excel. Also, he has shown great promise to becoming a starter in the future, a promise that will not be fulfilled as Demko is in the role. Silvos is big, highly intelligent, and can read developing plays well. He pairs that with above-average athleticism to be able to track and react to plays, but his issue for now is consistency. At 22 years old, that is to be expected.
Silovs’ AHL numbers in 2022-23 were pedestrian with a .909 SV%, but that doesn’t reflect his level of play as he did carry Abbotsford to a 26-12-5 record as their starter. In the play-in round of the playoffs, he stepped his game up to a .914 SV% but couldn’t get them into the next round. That loss, however, allowed him to be the starter at the World Championship for Latvia. Not only did he shine with a .920 SV%, but he also led his nation to a bronze medal and was named tournament MVP.
Value Added for Canucks
In return, the Canadiens can offer quite a lot to Vancouver thanks to one of the NHL’s top prospect pools. The Canucks need significant depth if they want to eventually be able to surround their core with good depth players. For a prospective starter, it should be very expensive, but goaltending markets are always unusually weak. But that doesn’t mean it will be cheap.
Vancouver’s prospect pool has significant deficiencies, thanks to many years of sacrificing futures to try and improve the NHL lineup, unsuccessfully. Because of this, the quality of their system has slid to a point where they are one of the weakest in the NHL. The Canadiens could leverage their depth at left defense to fill the Canucks’ need there providing a prospect such as Jayden Struble or Adam Engstrom. Added to that, a pick could be added, or another prospect up front, such as Riley Kidney or Vinzenz Rohrer.
The Canadiens could leverage that depth for themselves and offer the Canucks a better one-for-one deal with someone like Jordan Harris who is an inexpensive, reliable second-pairing defender that can fit their system. Another option is to take advantage of the salary cap situation the Canucks are facing as they sit at $4.98 million over the cap ceiling. The Canadiens could provide them with a prospect and take on a “bad contract” like Tyler Myers and his $6 million for one more season.
While these names may not be exciting as they aren’t star-caliber players, they are expected to be capable of being middle-of-the-lineup NHL players. For a team like the Canucks who have been overpaying for that type of player, adding young, inexpensive options could make a positive impact on their cap structure by leveraging the value a goaltending prospect could have for the Canadiens.
