When Canadiens Should First Start Montembeault in Net in 2026-27

You can practically see the gears spinning in the heads of the Montreal Canadiens. They must be thinking how, following the team’s overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins this weekend, in which starter Jakub Dobes got pumped for six goals, they should give backup Sam Montembeault a shot the next time out. Instead they should fight the urge.

Dobes Deserves Better

Sure, Dobes may have technically struggled against the Penguins, but that was more so the team in front of him hanging him out to dry. He should instead be given the benefit of the doubt, similar to how Montembeault was continually given chance after chance last season (and yet another this one, when he made the team out of training camp). Bouncing between goalies sends the wrong message, especially when it’s only two games into the season and Game 3 is the team’s home opener against the Carolina Hurricanes, a game he has arguably earned.

It’s not as much about Dobes deserving another chance, although he does arguably deserve the net still, especially after an impressive first game of the season against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s more so about giving Dobes a chance to rebound after a bad start and a chance to prove himself after he fell short against the Hurricanes in Round 3. It’s also about setting a dangerous precedent of switching goalies whenever one has a bad outing. Following that same strategy led to a lack of consistency early last season.

So, the Canadiens should wait slightly longer to give Montembeault his first start. Some may be so firmly in Dobes’ corner that they believe Montembeault should only start when they play back-to-back games. That too represents an overreaction, just at the opposite end of the spectrum. The solution is somewhere in the middle.

Canadiens Questionably Cut Fowler

Keep in mind, Jacob Fowler is the goalie between him and Montembeault that the team seems to trust more. In a single-game, winner-take-all situation, it’s hard to believe they would go with the latter, seeing as, before making the team following a good overall performance in the preseason, Montembeault had played his way out of the rotation by last year’s trade deadline. Going with a tandem of Dobes and Fowler in the playoffs, the Canadiens seemed to signal exactly that, and it’s inherently unlikely Montembeault has completely rehabilitated his standing within the organization after a few exhibition games.

The Canadiens nevertheless cut Fowler in to end the preseason, effectively making Montembeault Dobes’ backup. However, labels like that don’t really do justice to the nuance that characterizes the team’s goaltending situation. There are basically two schools of thought surrounding the controversial decision. The Habs either truly believe Montembeault has redeemed himself after a few preseason games and that his struggles last season are in the past. Alternatively, this is just a short-term move to give Fowler as much playing time as possible while they find a taker on the trade market for their backup. Either way you look at it, the Habs are probably going to give Montembeault more ice time than your typical No. 2.

Furthermore, with only 10 sets of back-to-back games on tap, the Canadiens can’t realistically expect Dobes to play 72, when he’s never played more than 51 in a season as a professional. So, they’re going to have to pick and choose the times it makes the most sense to rest him. So, waiting another week and a half for their first back-to-back situation against the Buffalo Sabres (Oct. 13) and Washington Capitals (Oct. 14) should be out of the question. For additional context, it’s another month before they play another set.

Montembeault Not a Better Option than Dobes

So, the Detroit Red Wings at home on Oct. 10 are a possibility for Montembeault. They represent perhaps the easiest of the team’s first five opponents so far (on paper). However, with the aforementioned back-to-back games against the Sabres and Capitals coming up immediately afterward, you run the risk of giving Montembeault too many games in a row. And, between the two games, he most certainly should get the Sabres, who will be coming off a game the previous night, while the Habs will be relatively well-rested in comparison.

Playing Montembeault in consecutive games isn’t inherently bad at face value. It would be misguided, though. If he plays well enough, the short-term priority is obviously to put the team in the best position to win. So, it would be hard to argue with the decision. However, in so doing, you fall (further) into the trap of thinking he’s the same goalie that finished among the league leaders in goals saved above expected in 2024-25. If he wins one and then another, what’s to stop head coach Martin St. Louis from continuing to ride him as this team’s No. 1? When the focus should remain on Dobes and Fowler, the team’s next generation of goalies, with Montembeault set to hit unrestricted free agency in July? In a vacuum, Montembeault at his peak is just not as good as Dobes at his. This has been proven.

So, the Canadiens must prioritize finding the right balance between playing Montembeault just enough to presumably get his value up for the purposes of trading him but not too much that you start looking past Dobes as this team’s current starter and more importantly this team’s future in net, potentially along with Fowler. And fans of Fowler and what he brings to the table have to come to terms with the possibility a Montembeault trade isn’t even in the cards. It’s unlikely an attractive one will surface for a 30-year-old goalie with a career 90-92-32 record, 3.23 goals-against average (GAA) and .896 save percentage (SV%).

Regardless, by keeping Montembeault on the roster, you’ve already committed to playing him more than you would your typical backup in past seasons, even if only by virtue of there being 84 games instead of the usual 82. However, if you’ve gotten one good season out of Montembeault in the past, that’s the perceived justification to have kept him over Fowler, because you see him as capable of recapturing lightning in a bottle. You’re not keeping Montembeault around hoping he repeats his performance last season when he went 10-8-4 with a 3.43 GAA and .872 SV%.

Why else would you delay Fowler’s emergence as an NHL regular? The fact that Fowler is still exempt from waivers whereas Montembeault would have had to go through them isn’t a good enough reason, when you may as well be losing the veteran for nothing anyway based on what the Canadiens will realistically get for him in a trade. That is, if a trade is even coming.

Until then, the Nashville Predators at the Bell Centre on Oct. 8 is the best bet for Montembeault’s first game this season, followed by his second on the 13th against the Sabres. Two games out of the team’s first six is reasonable, even if only to assess if his performance in the preseason was a fluke. Furthermore, to ensure there are no excuses, those are also games in which he would be put in the best position to succeed. Any more than that and you risk compromising that of the organization as a whole in net.

You’re only affording Dobes the same confidence in his abilities you did Montembeault in the past. This is not a controversial stance, based on how well Dobes played to end last season. There’s only a controversy if the Canadiens allow there to be one.