On Friday, The Athletic published its season preview for the Montreal Canadiens, and there’s not a lot of surprising information in there. Authors Dom Luszczyszyn, Sean Gentille, and Shayna Goldman’s projection has the Habs racking up 92 points this upcoming season, giving them a 51% chance of making the playoffs and a 2.4% chance of winning the Stanley Cup.

According to the model they used to make their projection, Samuel Montembeault is a potentially elite goaltender, with the projection even ranking him as a top-five netminder. That’s quite a compliment for the goaltender who was drafted in the third round by the Florida Panthers (77th overall at the 2015 draft) but who landed in Montreal after being put on waivers when the Canadiens badly needed a masked man.

According to the data compiled, he has saved 49 goals above the expected total over the last two seasons, which puts him in third place behind the Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck and the Panthers/Toronto Maple Leafs' Anthony Stolarz.

For whatever reason, Montembeault doesn’t really get the respect he deserves in Montreal. Most fans believe he’s the guy who’s holding Jacob Fowler’s spot warm until the youngster is ready to be the one. That might have to do with how the Canadiens acquired him, but his body of work speaks for itself over the last couple of years.

The 28-year-old has matured and grown like the rest of the team, and he has improved technically. While Team Canada doesn’t have as deep a pool of goaltending talent as it once did, the fact that Montembeault was one of the three goaltenders selected for the 4 Nations Face-Off was quite an accomplishment. As things stand, he is a serious contender for a spot on the Olympic roster.

Of course, that’s hard to believe when you think about how he performed in the last game, but that was one preseason off game; his first outing was much better. Whichever way you look at it, the Canadiens are lucky to have the Becancour native. Whether or not Fowler eventually becomes the one, the Habs do not need to rush him thanks to Montembeault’s performances.

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