Samuel Montembeault is still with the Montreal Canadiens, but how long will that last? The goaltender has turned the page on last season, and he knows he has a job to earn.
On Friday, Montreal Canadiens’ former number one goaltender Samuel Montembeault spoke to the media for the first time since training camp began and, unsurprisingly, said he has turned the page on last year’s debacle. Being a new dad helped him do that; it made it easier to think about something besides hockey, but he didn’t take that big a break because he wanted to keep building on what he had put together when he wasn’t playing during the playoffs.
For now, what the goaltender needs is to build up his confidence, and in that sense, it may be very good for him to be training with Team B. Right now, he’s not facing the team’s top offensive weapon, and after Friday’s practice he said:
It went well this summer, so I felt ready when I got to camp. The first two days went well. Today I gave up just two goals in the whole practice, both to Florian, but I feel good, and as I said, I don’t want to think too much about what’s coming. I want to come to work every day, and we’ll see what happens.
Obviously, like everyone else, he’s aware that GM Kent Hughes has said he’s ready to start training camp with three goaltenders but not the season, but he doesn’t want to discuss whether that increases the pressure on him:
It comes back to what I said: I don’t want to think ahead to when the season will start. We still have a couple of weeks before then, so I want to work, try to do things the right way and give myself the best odds. I’ve got a role to earn; we know that last year it didn’t go well. So it’s a new start; I want to come to work and do things the right way.
Put into context, Hughes’ declaration could mean a couple of different scenarios. It doesn’t necessarily mean that Montembeault will be traded; it could simply mean that Jacob Fowler, who doesn’t have to clear waivers, is sent down to Laval. Would that be ideal? No. Of course Fowler could use more action, but given what he showed last season, it feels like he'd benefit more from seeing that action in the NHL, facing NHL players who are more skilled and tougher to stop than AHLers. That’s one reason Hughes will move Montembeault if he gets an opportunity; besides, since the Bécancour native is playing a contract year, he certainly wouldn’t mind a shot at being number one elsewhere to prove his worth.
On Saturday night, Montembeault and Team B will head to Toronto to take on what is likely to be the Toronto Maple Leafs’ A Team, based on what we’ve seen of the Leafs’ training groups. In other words, after facing the Canadiens’ bottom six, he’ll face Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares, new sensation Gavin McKenna, and new defenseman Darren Raddysh. With all due respect to the Canadiens’ bottom six, that promises to be a bigger challenge. Thankfully, that game will take place away from the spotlight of the Bell Centre, which will at least let Montembeault ease back in mentally.
Martin St-Louis has yet to confirm who will start for the Canadiens in Saturday night's split-squad games, but logic dictates that Montembeault will get the start. Training camp is short this season, and the Habs have no time to waste. They need to see and know whether the netminder can bounce back, wherever he ends up. A strong performance would also go a long way toward improving his value on the trade market. On Jason Gregor’s podcast earlier this week, Frank Seravalli said he believes Montembeault will be the first player traded this season, and if he can prove last year was a bump in the road, that wouldn’t be surprising.
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.
