Could Kent Hughes get another chance to move Samuel Montembeault thanks to a summer injury to one of the Edmonton Oilers' goaltenders?
There are only a handful of days left in August, and despite the events of last season, Samuel Montembeault is still a member of the Montreal Canadiens. Recently, Louis Jean spoke to Meeker Guerrier about the netminder’s fate on the airwaves of 98.5, and he admitted he was convinced the Becancour native would never wear the Sainte-Flanelle again at the end of the season. It’s safe to say that he wasn’t the only one. However, Jean didn’t stop there; he told Guerrier that he believed Kent Hughes had done everything he could to move the goalie over the summer but couldn't find a taker. Jean reports that what Hughes was offered for the former number one didn’t make sense to him.
Hughes isn't in the business of losing trades and selling low, but if there was one asset I believed the Canadiens’ GM would be willing to let go of for not much, it was Montembeault. Not just because he had a nightmarish season last year, but also because he fell on the organization’s lap on waivers. The Habs didn’t pay anything to acquire him. It’s not like Kirby Dach, for whom they sacrificed Alexander Romanov, a first-round pick (13th overall) and the 66th overall pick at the 2022 draft. Still, as multiple goaltenders found new homes, Hughes stood firm and refused to move Montembeault for less than he thought he was worth.
Now that the dust has settled, however, and Hughes has been unable to move him, one has to wonder if he’d be willing to reconsider his position. Late on Wednesday afternoon, the Edmonton Oilers, who chose to gamble on the often-injured Stanley Cup-winning Frederik Andersen, announced that the Dane had suffered an injury in training this summer and that he would not take part in training camp. When Andersen’s signing was announced, it raised many eyebrows, but few people thought the Oilers would feel the pain of that signing so early.
Of course, if Andersen only misses training camp, it’s not a tragedy, but in the last four seasons, he has played just 34, 16, 22 and 35 games. Could Edmonton get buyer’s remorse here? Are they willing to enter the season with Tristan Jarry and Devon Levy as their other options in net if Andersen’s injury takes longer to heal or if he gets injured again during the season? It’s at least worth Hughes calling Stan Bowman. The Oilers have just under $2 million in cap space, and Montembeault’s cap hit stands at just $3.15 million. A trade would have to involve a roster player to make the money work, and it likely wouldn’t be a top player. Sill, it would allow the Canadiens to keep Jacob Fowler with the big club this season, which is no doubt the youngster’s preferred course of action.
As for the Oilers, they are running out of time to show Connor McDavid that winning a Stanley Cup in Edmonton is possible and having a question mark in net isn’t ideal, but given what they’ve done in the past, they may be willing to roll the dice on Montembeault.
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