The Montreal Canadiens are prioritizing goaltending now that franchise goalie Carey Price’s career is seemingly over. The organization has been fortunate with goaltending in their history, but as they are in a transitional phase, the team is hopes they have found their netminder of the future without having to select them at the very top of the draft.
The Canadiens have drafted six goalies in the last four years, and three of them were selected in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. Every goaltender in the Canadiens organization has been drafted by them, except both goalies who have been in net for them the past two years, Sam Montembeault and Jake Allen. However, I’m not confident in letting that tandem lead the team out of a rebuild, but at the same time, they aren’t bad. But the Canadiens need something better, and they could have already drafted him.
Is Sam Montembeault the Present & Future?
Since the Canadiens picked up Montembeault off waivers, he has become the team’s go-to option. In the past two seasons, albeit on a bad Canadiens team, he has played 78 games and started 69. By the end of last season, he was the better option, not only because of his better numbers but because he can improve and be their starter for the foreseeable future.
While Allen only started eight games from the start of March until the end of the season, Montembeault started 12 and came in as relief in two. He is six years younger than Allen, and Montembeault is just hitting his prime. As the team gets better in front of him, and the defencemen get more experience, his stats are bound to get better. It is very difficult for goalies to put up good numbers when the rest of the team is struggling.
However, Montembeault generally kept the Canadiens in most games, improved his save percentage (SV%) from year one (.891 SV%) to year two (.901 SV%), vastly improved his goals saved above average (GSAA) from minus-17.5 to minus-4.2, and had a strong quality start percentage (.538), much better than the .367 percent in 2021-22. He also has one year left at $1 million. He is bound for a raise and to reach a new agreement with the Canadiens if he once again improves. If not, they might look to free agency or a trade for immediate help as the Canadiens should push for a playoff spot in 2024-25.
Allen Has Limited Time Left with the Canadiens
The Canadiens aren’t in any cap trouble, since a couple of their larger contracts ended last season and more will be off the books after 2023-24. Allen was brought in to back up Price a few years ago with the knowledge that he would likely have to start a fair bit of games. That came to pass fairly quickly and Allen’s numbers have gone down over the course of his three seasons in Montreal.
Since the Canadiens knew they were rebuilding, they definitely overpaid to keep Allen around as a veteran option. I don’t disagree with the decision, but the 33-year-old has two years left on his deal with a cap hit of $3.85 million, and he will be gone by the end of it. He has done his job in tandem with Montembeault, and as the team hopes Montembeault blossoms, they don’t have any serious expectations for Allen in net other than to provide them with games. I could see him being buried in the minors before being bought out next season, and if he makes it to the end of his contract, I don’t see the Canadiens re-upping a 35-year-old who’s been very inconsistent.
Cayden Primeau Has Arrived
Cayden Primeau, who will turn 24 years old in a few days, is the Canadiens’ next man up. Drafted in the seventh round in 2017, he earned NHL time very quickly. It wasn’t any significant amount of time as he has now played 21 games for the Canadiens, getting time in four seasons since 2019-20. Because of his early arrival, he will now have to clear waivers if he doesn’t make the NHL, which means a difficult decision is pending.
He could be claimed off waivers if the Canadiens elect to cut him from the team in training camp. This would set the organization back, as they’d lose their young goalie on the rise and potential future number one because they chose Allen coming off his worst season. More likely, Primeau will earn a backup role in Montreal and maybe even push for 30 starts this season if he plays well. The Canadiens have to keep him around because he’s not the next man up anymore. He has arrived.
Primeau should still be considered a prospect, but not for long. I think he will surpass his career games played this season and although over a .910 SV% isn’t expected, I wouldn’t be entirely shocked. Another option, of course, is carrying three goaltenders. This isn’t ideal and definitely isn’t a regular occurrence in the NHL, plus it would take a spot away from an extra young forward or defenceman to make the roster. If it is between running with three goalies for at least some time or losing Primeau on waivers, the former is the better choice.
Jakub Dobes Quickly on the Rise
Jakub Dobes will be the backup goaltender in the American Hockey League (AHL) this season for the Laval Rocket, as he decided to leave before his final two years in the NCAA. He was outstanding in his first season and was named the Big-10 goaltender of the year and finished with a .934 SV% and 2.23 goals-against average (GAA) (from “Canadiens goalie prospect Jakub Dobes eager to prove his mettle in Laval,” Montreal Gazette, Apr. 4, 2023).
The 6-foot-4 goalie was drafted in the fifth round in 2020, and there are some expectations for him now that he’s turned pro. With the group of goalies in front of him, I expect two to three seasons in the AHL until he sees any significant playing time in the NHL.
The Goalie Crop of 2021, 2022, and 2023
Starting with the one goalie drafted in 2021, Joe Vrbetic doesn’t appear to be going anywhere. Unlike Primeau, this seventh-round pick had a very tough first pro season. He split time between the AHL (four games) and ECHL (28 games) and his numbers didn’t suggest anything good. He had a 4.08 GAA and .871 SV% in Laval and a 3.30 GAA and .896 SV% for the Trois-Rivires Lions.
The Canadiens also only drafted one goalie in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Emmett Croteau, in the sixth round. His numbers weren’t eye-popping until last season when he took a big leap forward. The 19-year-old finished his season in the United States Hockey League (USHL) with a 2.46 GAA and .917 SV% after a 3.00 GAA and .899 SV% in 2021-22. This is great to see as he will give Dobes and others a little competition for playing time soon enough.
The 2023 Draft saw the Canadiens select three goalies, most notably Jacob Fowler. The other two, Quentin Miller and Yevgeni Volokhin, were taken at the end of the fourth and in the middle of the fifth round, respectively. Fowler who, aside from Allen, was drafted early in the second round in 2008, is the highest-drafted goalie still playing in the organization.
Fowler knows he needs time to develop and is going to play another season in the NCAA. There is hope for him, just as much as there is for Primeau and Dobes. Fowler has confidence, but it doesn’t come off as cockiness. He was also the goaltender of the year, this time in the USHL by going 27-9-4 with a 2.28 GAA and .921 SV%. Because of where he was drafted and the season he just had, there are higher expectations for him in the future.
Related: Canadiens Have 4 Interesting Positional Battles in Top-6
Both Miller and Volokhin had good seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and MHL in Russia but have a ways to go to not only pass and compete with some of the goalies ahead of them by a couple of years but also to find a place in the system.
The Canadiens have had great goaltending until the past couple of seasons when they entered a transition period. Montembeault serving as the backup, or with the potential to be a fringe starter isn’t horrible, especially not from a waiver pickup. With Primeau, Dobes, Fowler, and potentially more, the Canadiens have a great crop of goaltenders ready to compete for a spot in the NHL in the future. With a young defence core, and a tandem that has a lot left to be desired, Habs fans shouldn’t be suffering much longer.