Sportsnet's insider Elliotte Friedman the door is wide open for Jacob Fowler to finish the season with the Montreal Canadiens.
On the latest episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman spoke about the Montreal Canadiens’ tough weekend and about the way forward for Jacob Fowler. The insider believes that while the masked men will have been disappointed with the loss, he still played pretty well and that the door is wide open for him to remain with the team until the end of the season.
Friedman considers that the acquisition of Hunter Shepard from the Ottawa Senators is a clear sign that Montreal is preparing for the rookie netminder to stay in the NHL. Friedman adds that as of the weekend, they hadn’t told Fowler that he would remain in the NHL, but given the fact that you only have five callups after the deadline and they’ve used one for him, it wouldn’t make sense to play yoyo with the organization’s prized prospect.
Despite being in the net for Sunday’s loss against the Anaheim Ducks and the fact that there will be a tough battle in the Eastern Conference to get into the playoffs, he believes Fowler will be given every opportunity to show he deserves to be there. Given how many opportunities Samuel Montembeault has had to bounce back and the precarious position the Canadiens find themselves in the standings, that would be the most logical course of action.
At this stage of the season, with every point meaning so much, you can’t go back to a goaltender whose confidence is shot and is trying to find his game. It’s not that the Canadiens ran out of patience with Montembeault, but they ran out of runway. It’s a shame for the Becancour native, but hockey is a game of results, and you’re only as good as your latest performance.
Regardless of whether Fowler sticks with the Canadiens until the end of the season, he’s already shown that he’s ready for the NHL, and that means Kent Hughes will have interesting decisions to make in the offseason. Both Montembeault and Jakub Dobes are signed for another season, after which the Quebecois will be a UFA and the Czech a RFA with arbitration rights.
Of the two, Dobes has had the better results this season. He leads all rookie netminders with 21, is fourth in goals-against average amongst rookie goalies with at least 15 starts at 2.97 GAA, and fifth in save percentage in the same pool of goalies with .891 SV. Will the Habs be willing to go forward with so much youth in net? That remains to be seen.
Back in 2009-10, the Canadiens had two youngsters in net in Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak, but by the start of the next season, Halak had been traded, and veteran Alex Auld was brought in. The situation this time around is different, though. Back then, it was felt that Halak had to be moved out so Price could have room to grow into his starter role, but I don’t see that happening for Fowler.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable on The Hockey News.
Subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here.