Will the Montreal Canadiens Trade a Goaltender?

The Montreal Canadiens have been carrying three goaltenders – Sam Montembeault, Jake Allen and Cayden Primeau – since the start of the season. There's been ongoing speculation that one of them could be traded, but a deal has yet to materialize.

Montembeault recently signed a three-year contract extension. Despite some conjecture suggesting it could be part of a sign-and-trade effort by the Canadiens, it's clear that he's part of their long-term plans. That leaves Allen and Primeau as trade candidates, sitting tied for fourth on TSN's recent Trade Bait listing.

Allen and Primeau were recently linked to the Edmonton Oilers, who've been reportedly shopping around for depth between the pipes. The Oilers were among four clubs that Montreal Hockey Now's Marc Dumont said he thinks require goaltending help, along with the Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings.

The Oilers could still be keeping an eye on the goalie market. However, they're facing less pressure to address that need since winning 10 of 13 games under new coach Kris Knoblauch.

Hurricanes starter Frederik Andersen is sidelined indefinitely with a blood clotting issue. That's left Antti Raanta and Pyotr Kochetkov struggling to replace him.

The disappointing caliber of play of Devils netminders Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid continues to spark trade speculation. Meanwhile, the Kings have been rolling along with Cam Talbot as their starter, but Dumont pointed out the inconsistent play of backup Pheonix Copley.

Neither Allen nor Primeau appears capable of filling the starter's job in Edmonton, Carolina or New Jersey. One of them could be suited to back up Talbot in Los Angeles.