The Montreal Canadiens have been around .500 for most of the season, and that is partly thanks to some outstanding play from the team’s goaltenders. Even with injuries to significant players like Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook, the Canadiens have managed to play winning hockey, inconsistent at times but relatively good. With two top-six players out of the lineup, strong goaltending is needed to win, and the Habs have succeeded with a three-goalie system.
The issue isn’t now, but two seasons from now, when the team should be at least a playoff contender; the Canadiens’ goaltenders are all on short-term contracts, and their goalies in the system will need more time before they are NHL-ready.
Canadiens Want to Move a Goalie By the Trade Deadline
With three goalies, the Canadiens have been trying – and succeeding – to use all three as much as possible. Sam Montembeault has been getting most of the starts, with Jake Allen and Cayden Primeau splitting time. By that I mean that Montembeault gets two starts for every one start for the other two, so not a significant amount, but enough to show who the number one will be.
Montembeault also just signed a three-year extension worth $3.15 million, which runs until 2026-27; Allen and Primeau are signed until the end of next season when Allen becomes an unrestricted free agent (UFA) and Primeau becomes a restricted free agent (RFA). At some point, the Habs’ three-goalie system has to change, and one of them will need to be moved before they lose them for nothing.
Of the three goalies, Allen comes up most in trade talks, especially about any team that needs goaltending help. He is the obvious choice to be traded, given his experience, and he has to be moved before the end of 2024-25 if management wants assets in return. General manager (GM) Kent Hughes has turned down offers for Allen because the return was not high enough, and he has stated that he hopes to have the situation cleared up by the trade deadline. With Montembeault’s improved play and contract extension, Hughes has more freedom to move Allen and give Primeau more starts.
Canadiens Goaltending Prospects Making Most of Their Opportunities
The Canadiens added to their goalie depth after last season’s draft when they selected Jacob Fowler, Quentin Miller, and Yevgeni Volokhin. Fowler is one of the top goaltenders in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for Boston College and recently helped the United States win the World Junior Championship (WJC) gold medal.
Last season, Miller was the backup goaltender with the Quebec Remparts when they won the Memorial Cup as the top team in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). This season, he was the starter for the Remparts before being traded to the Rimouski Oceanic to help their run for the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) championship and, hopefully, Memorial Cup.
Volokhin was the top goaltender in Molodyozhnaya Hokkeinaya Liga (MHL), the Russian junior league, last season and is well on his way to dominating the league again in 2023-24.
Related: Oilers 2023-24 Trade Targets: Jake Allen
The Canadiens already have Jakub Dobes on the Laval Rocket of the American Hockey League (AHL). Dobes had great numbers with Ohio State in the NCAA and signed with the Canadiens after only two years there. However, he had a slow start in Laval, and questions quickly arose about whether he was ready for the professional league.
After allowing three goals on seven shots in just under four minutes of play on Dec. 2, Dobes was pulled, and the Rocket were looking for another goaltender. Since that terrible start, Dobes has been excellent, allowing 18 goals on 247 shots for a .932 save percentage (SV%) and a 6-1-1 record. Montreal seems to have great goaltending at every level, which should mean a bright future.
Canadiens Prospects May Not Be Ready in Time
The Canadiens shouldn’t have a goaltending issue. Since Allen will likely be traded before the trade deadline this season, Primeau will be left as the backup goalie. Montreal has some control over Primeau because he is an RFA, but how long of a contract he will get will depend on his play for the rest of this season and next. Teams may also want Primeau instead of Allen. Montembeault’s extension gives the Canadiens at least three seasons of quality goaltending after next season; however, they may need Dobes to be NHL-ready sooner rather than later
Fowler is in his first season in the NCAA, and even if he takes the same route as Dobes and plays only one more season at that level, he will still need time in Laval before he’s ready for the NHL. Volokhin is in his second year in the MHL and will need time in either the KHL or AHL to determine how well he can play at a higher level.
There is also the Russian factor with Volokhin and how long it will be before he travels to Montreal. He has yet to sign a KHL contract, so that’s a good sign for the Habs, but he is still two to three years away from North America.
Miller is probably the closest to moving into the professional leagues, but nothing in his play in the QMJHL suggests he will soon be ready to make the jump. The best-case scenario would be for Dobes to be NHL-ready by the time Allen and Primeau’s contracts expire, but he needs to be more consistent in Laval for that to happen.
Fowler is projected to be the next starter for the Canadiens, but to develop him correctly, he will need time, and the length of Montembeault’s contract might not be enough time. They need someone ready in three seasons, or they must re-sign Montembeault. That won’t be a bad thing if he keeps improving his play, but if he isn’t the goalie of the future, the timing will be off to ensure the team’s success.
Primeau is still an option, and he could turn into a good NHL goalie, but again, the Canadiens should want to contend for the Stanley Cup in three seasons. Will Primeau and Montembeault be the goalies to get them there or will they need to sign or trade for a top goaltender, which will eventually block the young goalies from moving forward? There are many questions and few answers for the team’s future in the net, but in the end, they have three seasons to fix the issue.
