Canadiens Hoping History Repeats Itself After Goalie Coach Change

Now-ex-Montreal Canadiens goaltending coach Eric Raymond, who was let go Wednesday, had arguably both the good and bad fortune of having joined the team after its run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. In a season in which the Habs first faced life without Carey Price in net (for the first time in a decade and a half) and Shea Weber “retired,” expectations had been lowered significantly.

Montembeault Climbs Canadiens’ Depth Chart

With Price playing only five games that (final) season (of his playing career), the Canadiens relied largely on then-backup Jake Allen and waiver-wire pick-up Sam Montembeault. Of the total six goalies the Habs played that 2021-22 season, those were the two they leaned on the most, with Montembeault eventually emerging as the best in class, despite having effectively been a third-stringer American Hockey League goalie at the time, albeit one with some potential.

Montembeault allowed five goals on 34 shots in that game, as the team in front of him rallied to overcome a two-goal deficit in the final five minutes. The Canadiens forced overtime and took advantage of an opposing goalie having an even worse go of it this season than him for the victory. That the Habs gave the net back to him after Dobes won the next game went to show he was still their guy and that results matter the most. After he then lost his two next games to the Buffalo Sabres, yet another division rival, and Bruins, a change was necessary.

If this is how Montembeault plays after spending extended periods of time being coached by Raymond, clearly he head to be replaced, because the issues in net for the team extend beyond Montembeault. He’s just the worst example, unfortunately. However, if Montembeault can be as good as he was coming back from working with Marciano, it’s at least worth taking a chance on him at the NHL level.

Dobes Must Be the Guy in Canadiens’ Net

In the meantime, Dobes is the guy in net. He has to be for the foreseeable future, until the Olympic break at least. And, if it so happens that the team’s goaltending improves drastically, similar to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ power play after they fired assistant-coach Marc Savard earlier this season, that’s something to revisit, with their next set of back-to-back games scheduled for March 6-7 (Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, both on the road).

Keep in mind, when the Canadiens fired ex-goaltending coach Stephane Waite back in 2021, replacing him with Sean Burke, Price had an .893 SV%. He rebounded to post one of .901 in the regular season before putting up a Conn Smythe Trophy-calibre performance in the postseason, during which he had one of .924. Raymond came on soon thereafter. And the rest, for better or worse, is history. It shouldn’t be lost on anyone that the Canadiens’ offense is near the top of the league and the defense is giving up a ninth-ranked 27.0 shots against per game.

The defense may not be perfect, but the goaltending is clearly the team’s weak spot and it needed to be addressed. Now that it has, at least with a Band-Aid? Things should get better, which would be impressive, based on their current 29-17-7 record. Clearly, “good enough” isn’t. And that should be applauded, even if that applause comes at Raymond’s expense. Regardless, something had to happen sooner or later. After one too many Montembeault slumps, sooner was the better option. And he hasn’t been playing nearly well enough to be traded. Someone else had to go.