There’s an old saying that Elliotte Friedman’s grandmother used to roll out whenever life veered sideways: “You can plan all you want—God just laughs.” If you’re a Montreal Canadiens fan right now, watching this early-season slide and a goaltending carousel that looks more like a guessing game, that line probably feels a little too true.
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The Canadiens are on a bit of a skid, shots are leaking through at the wrong times, and suddenly everyone in Montreal is doing what Montreal does best—parsing the tea leaves like it’s a civic duty. Friedman’s latest interview on the FAN Hockey Show (as seen in the video below) added fuel to that fire. While he isn’t predicting any blockbuster move, he does remind Montreal fans what the Canadiens might actually be doing behind the scenes.
One thing he doesn’t believe they are doing is panicking. Instead, they’re asking questions. But the truth is that, right now, there might be plenty of questions to ask.
The Quiet Panic: What Exactly Do the Canadiens Have Here?
Friedman made one thing clear. He doesn’t believe Montreal is storming the goalie market… yet. What they are doing is taking stock. That means sitting around a table and engaging in the uncomfortable kinds of analyses. For example, what are we working with? Can we sort this out ourselves? Finally, is this slump a blip or something real?
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It’s not the kind of conversation that gets anyone in trouble, but it’s the kind that reminds Canadiens fans that the organization feels the wobble. You don’t ask those questions when things are hunky dory.
Then, there’s the curveball Friedman tossed in. What’s going on with the Buffalo Sabres’ Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen? He’s only played five games due to health concerns, but the talent is there. Friedman is clear that people are watching. Maybe he’s not headed anywhere. Maybe he is.
But the fact is that Friedman thinks teams are doing their homework. For him, that tells you exactly where Montreal sits. The management isn’t acting, but they are listening. They’re not quite ready to dive in, but they are moving closer to the edge of the pool.
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Montreal is an organization that has always preferred to solve problems internally. But even the calmest front office has its moments of pacing.
The Fowler Temptation: A Quick Fix or a Long Mistake?
Of course, whenever the crease gets messy in Montreal, someone asks about Jacob Fowler. This debate happens like clockwork. One friend of Friedman’s—described as a “diehard Habs fan”—wanted to know when the kid gets his shot.
Friedman admitted that Fowler’s good. Good enough that people are watching him the way you watch bread rise when you’re hungry—you get impatient. But as Friedman pointed out, this was never the season. The plan wasn’t now.
Jeff Gorton, with his long history of development-first thinking, isn’t the type to yank a goalie out of the oven half-baked. He knows the quickest way to ruin a young goalie is to make him the emergency patch for a veteran problem. Until then, the Canadiens will rely on Sam Montembeault and Jakub Dobes.
That said, plans bend (even if they don’t break). If the slump deepens and the organization thinks Fowler can benefit from a taste of NHL action, not a rescue mission, could he get a game? Sure. But rushing him isn’t in the cards. As Friedman explained, that’s the kind of shortcut this front office tries to avoid.
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But this conversation isn’t about Fowler. It’s about whether the Canadiens can steady their hands long enough to let the long-term picture stay in focus.
The Truth About Goalies: They’re Up, Down, and Hard to Predict
Goalies are streaky creatures. Every team knows it, but Montreal feels it more deeply because that market amplifies every rebound. One bad week becomes a crisis. One great game becomes the hope for a reset.
So here the Canadiens are: a losing streak, a crease full of question marks, and a system not quite ready to lean on its next big thing. If Friedman is correct, no moves are coming yet. No one is sprinting to make a trade. Just a team wondering whether the ground they’re standing on is a little softer than they thought.
Maybe that’s the real story: the Canadiens aren’t desperate—they’re nervous. In Montreal, that’s more than enough to get everyone talking.
