At least the Montreal Canadiens are addressing their situation in net, having overworked starter Sam Montembeault. It’s just not necessarily the ideal way to do it. Having promoted Jakub Dobes, the Habs are expected to waive Cayden Primeau for the purposes of sending him down to the Laval Rocket in the American Hockey League, once the roster freeze ends.
Canadiens fans should hope that’s the case anyway, because there are no guarantees to that effect. We are talking about a team that has an unfortunate recent history of mishandling their goaltending situation. After all, even with both Dobes and Primeau on the roster, they’ve accounted for the maximum 23 roster spots, and they did rock an unorthodox three-goalie rotation for all of last season, up until the trade deadline when they mercifully dealt Jake Allen to give their younger goalie, Primeau, more playing time.
Primeau Falls from Grace
At the time, Primeau responded in kind, posting a .921 save percentage (SV%) over his last nine game of the season. However, he’s struggled mightily since then. This season, he’s got a 4.70 goals-against average (GAA) with an .836 SV%. His 2-3-1 record, the result of a mere seven starts, while not horrible, is more so a reflection of the Canadiens’ apparent, but understandable lack of faith in him, considering the circumstances. As a result, they’ve overworked Montembeault to the tune of 28 games played so far and 10 straight starts, including two on back-to-back nights for a home-and-home series vs. the Detroit Red Wings.
Related: Canadiens Must Not Give Montembeault the Carey Price Treatment
Seeing as Montembeault has never played more than 41 before as a professional, something had to give. However, under the relatively safe assumption the Canadiens are going to do the rightish thing and give Primeau more playing time (in the AHL), they’re not out of the woods yet. They need to commit to doing the same for Dobes (in the NHL), because, as their 23-year-old starter with the Laval Rocket, he could end up being the future of the organization in net.
Sure, many envision prospect Jacob Fowler taking the reins eventually. However, many similarly envisioned the role belonging to Primeau once upon a time, before the Canadiens arguably threw him to the lions/wolves time and again to put his development at risk. Remember, according to ex-Canadiens goaltending coach Stephane Waite, he had advised ex-General Manager Marc Bergevin to give Primeau 200 AHL games and that he would reach his full potential by Age 25-26. Primeau is now 25, and a veteran of just 123 AHL games and 188 combined between it and the NHL, his appearances in the latter having of course become more sporadic. So, amazingly, the Habs have accomplished the impossible task of both rushing Primeau to the NHL and putting the brakes on his development.
Impressive.
Dobes’ Development Should Be Priority
There’s no denying Primeau has failed to answer the call and it’s in the Habs’ best interest to try another option at this point. There’s just a case they should have turned to Connor Hughes, Dobes’ 28-year-old backup with the Rocket, instead. Sure, Dobes has slightly better numbers than Hughes, but the Canadiens shouldn’t put themselves in a position where they have to choose between prioritizing wins and Dobes’ development. The fact is, the Habs are a young, inexperienced team that is seven points out of the second wild-card spot heading into the new year. These aren’t the 2018-19 St. Louis Blues or last year’s Edmonton Oilers. They aren’t reaching the Stanley Cup Final. They’re not even making the playoffs.
Now, that doesn’t mean the Canadiens should throw in the towel. However, it does mean they should keep an eye on the future, looking toward a point in time when a Stanley Cup becomes a realistic goal. It could very well be Dobes backstopping them a few years from now, but only assuming they develop him properly.
It should go without saying, but Dobes, with just 65 AHL games under his belt, needs to play so that he reaches his potential. Granted, he’s a different goalie than Primeau. Different people may take different developmental paths, but the Canadiens need a backup on which they can rely, and, shocker, that means regularly relying on one. If they’re not prepared to handle Dobes with care, while simultaneously playing him regularly behind a well-rested team, they owe it to everyone involved to try a different tack here. If not, they’ll have learned absolutely nothing from their mistakes developing Primeau. And they were myriad.
Canadiens Failed Primeau
Some may say that NHL teams and coaches know best. Not always. If those “some” truly believe that, they should trust the opinion of Waite, an ex-NHL goalie coach, who was part of multiple Stanley Cup-winning teams. He may have been let go, but, generally speaking, all coaches and GMs get let go at some point. They’re not infallible. And it’s clear to see the Canadiens failed Primeau here. And, if they failed Primeau, they can fail Dobes.
This wasn’t the plan, pure and simple in that, had everything gone according to it, Primeau wouldn’t be on the verge of getting demoted (or getting claimed off waivers). He’d be splitting starts with Montembeault as we speak, while Dobes continues to accrue time in the AHL. So, in some fashion, they’re rushing Dobes as well.
It’s okay to have faith that everything will turn out the right way. However, save some faith for Primeau as well, because, as poor as he’s performed, he’s deserved better. And, until/unless he’s claimed, he’s still part of the organization. Despite it all, he still deserves some manner of consideration from fans and the team itself.
Thankfully, the Canadiens are in a position where their depth chart in net is far from thin. They don’t necessarily need Primeau to pan out at this point, but they still need him in some capacity. Despite his prolonged, circuitous development, he had gone from a viable 1B on paper to presumably the waiver wire in six months. So, he’s forever proof that depth can be fleeting, especially if the Habs refuse to learn from the past. Primeau is technically still part of the team, so not yet the past. Hopefully he still pans out in some fashion. At the very least though, he should serve as a reminder of what not to do. With Dobes, they don’t have to wait long to practice this new philosophy and play him regularly. They had better not wait long.
