With his bargain contract and continued stellar play, Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes is quickly becoming one of the NHL's most valuable goaltenders.
Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes kicked off his season with a bang.
He opened his account for the 2026-27 campaign against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, earning his first win of the year in a solid performance. The 25-year-old netminder made 26 saves and posted a .929 save percentage in his season debut, holding the Maple Leafs to just two goals in a 3-2 win against their historic rivals.
Based on that performance and Dobes' standout moments from the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs — registering a .909 SP and a 2.66 goals-against average in that post-season — could he be one of the most valuable goaltenders in the NHL?
The Czech-born netminder has just entered the final year of his two-year contract that pays him $965,000 against the salary cap. Among projected NHL starting goaltenders, he easily has one of the lowest cap hits.
That's been a theme with GM Kent Hughes' team, signing his players to team-friendly contracts and getting in the way of the rising salary cap.
On top of his incredibly low average annual value, he's locked in for three years following this season on another team-friendly deal.
Starting in the 2027-28 season, Dobes will earn $5.3 million against Montreal's cap. Even then, he'll still be the league's 20th-highest-paid goaltender that season, as of now.
His salary will be lower than the likes of Tristan Jarry, Dan Vladar, Adin Hill, and some others that he should probably be paid more than.
Dobes is still a young and inexperienced goaltender with just 60 regular-season games, having played parts of two seasons before this campaign. However, his 37th win on Tuesday was the fourth-highest win total after 60 games in Canadiens history, putting him in elite company in a very short period of time. In that span, he's earned a .904 SP and a 2.76 GAA.
Even if it is early in his NHL career, considering Dobes' contract status and how he has performed so far, he's certainly regarded as one of the most valuable goalies in the league, and his contract will only look better as time passes.
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