With three goaltenders set to play at the NHL level for the Montreal Canadiens, will Kent Hughes make a move over the summer to reduce that number to two by opening night?
The Canadiens regular season begins on October 11th at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto against the Maple Leafs. Between now and puck drop, management have several decisions to make about the composition of the roster.
For the forwards and the defenseman, Kent Hughes can defer some decisions by sending waiver-exempt players to Laval. In goal, barring any injuries from now until the first game of the season, a decision is required.
Montreal currently has three goalies on their roster. Last season’s duo of Jake Allen and Samuel Montembeault are joined by Cayden Primeau. Starting in the 2023-’24 season, Primeau will be exposed to waivers if the organization attempts to send him to the American Hockey League (AHL.)
Since his hiring, Hughes has tried to maximize the value of his players. In July 2022, Jeff Petry and Ryan Poehling were traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Mike Matheson and a fourth round draft pick that Montreal used to select Bogdan Konyushkov. It was a good return for the Canadiens considering that Petry’s trade request was made public.
A good case can be made for trading any of the three goalies. Hughes may have already made his mind up on which goalie will be moved. He may also be waiting for the best offer for any of his goalies to trigger a deal.
Allen's Workload
Allen has struggled to play a full season in the National Hockey League (NHL.) When he has been asked to play significant minutes, his performance has gone down or injuries have creeped up. In his three seasons with the Canadiens, Allen has played in 106 of the 220 regular season games or 48 percent.
In 42 games in 2022-'23, Allen had 15-24-3 record. His goals against average (3.55) and .save percentage (.891) numbers were his worst of his NHL career.
The ideal role for the 32-year-old would be as a backup who can takeover the starting position for a short period of time in case of injury. His contract may make it difficult to trade before the start of the season.
This season will be the first year of his two-year deal that pays him on average $3.85 million. Allen becomes more appealing at the trade deadline, as he can be valuable to a team that is in a playoff push and doesn’t want to risk losing ground due to an injury between the pipes.
Montembeault Ready for More?
Montembeault is coming off his most consistent NHL season, registering a 16-19-3 record, a 3.42 goals against average and a .901 save percentage in 40 games.
At the end of the Canadiens season, Montembeault represented Canada at the World Championships in Finland and Latvia. He finished the tournament with six wins in seven starts with 1.42 goals against average, and .939 save percentage.
The biggest challenge for the 26-year-old is to remain consistent this season to establish himself as a NHL goalie. The 40 games played last season was the biggest workload for him since 2017-18 season when he played 41 games for the Springfield Thunderbirds, the Florida Panthers AHL affiliate. Is he ready to take the next step and take on a bigger role?
He's entering the final year of his contract that pays him $1.1 million. Hughes is planning to start talking to Montembeault at one point during the offseason. Will the general manager lock up the goalie immediately to an extension or will he wait for the start of season and evaluate how things play out? Both strategies have pros and cons.
Taking a Chance on Primeau
Primeau finished his fourth AHL season with 19-15-6-3 record, 3.04 goals against average and .909 save percentage. The 23-year-old has had a good AHL career with 123 regular season games and 16 playoff matches.
The same can't be said for his performance in the NHL. In 21 games with Montreal, he has a record of 3-12-2, 4.11 goals against average and .871 save percentage.
"I think the biggest thing for me is being able to be up [in NHL] consistently and show what I can do. I've felt good at times but I think the biggest thing would be trying to stay there consistently and and play so I can show what I can do," Primeau said at the end of the season when asked if he's ready for the next step.
The organization needs to decide whether they feel investing time in Primeau is worthwhile. If there's a time that the Canadiens can focus on development, it would be this season as there's no urgency for the club to win games.
Upcoming Decision
Assuming the trio of goalies are healthy to begin the season, Hughes shouldn't count on a big return if trying to move one of them. The most likely scenario would be that a goalie is included in a trade that involves more pieces.