Three Goalie Tandem Provides No Benefit for Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens decision to keep three goalies leaves unanswered questions between the pipes.

On Saturday, Cayden Primeau stopped 27 pucks in Montreal's 4-3 shootout loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena. Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman put the puck behind the goal line during the six round shootout. 

“I thought he played really well. He doesn’t get into the net probably as often as he would like, but he’s controlling what he can and he came out ready tonight and gave us a good chance,” reflected Martin St. Louis about the goalie's performance. 

After a quiet first period where the Lightning took four shots on goal, Primeau faced 26 shots in the final 45 minutes of the contest. 

"I felt positioning was good, my skating was good, my reads were good. I felt like my patience was good as well but on some of the goals, I could have been a little more patient. There’s always things to take away from every game," Primeau said evaluating his night. 

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The Canadiens have carried three goalies on their roster since the start of the season. Kent Hughes stated that based on his information, Primeau would be claimed if he was exposed to waivers at the beginning of the season. As part of Hughes' asset management approach, losing a player without a return is not an option. 

The three-goalie tandem was supposed to be temporary until a new home is found for one of them. With the clock ticking on trade deadline, the situation has not been resolved. 

During Sportsnet's broadcast of Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday, Elliotte Friedman reported that Hughes advised other general managers that he's comfortable finishing the year with three netminders. It is possible that Hughes is trying to force teams to increase their offer to acquire a goalie prior to Friday's deadline. 

The logjam between the pipes has not benefitted the organization. When Sam Montembeault signed his contract extension, Hughes mentioned that the organization would like to see if he can manage a heavier workload. The evaluation is incomplete as Montembeault has not the had the workload of a number one goalie. 

With 415 career NHL games, there isn't much more that the Canadiens or any other team can learn about Jake Allen at this point. 

On the other hand, Cayden Primeau has a lot to prove at the NHL level. His 13 starts this season is a small sample size for Montreal to decide whether he's capable of being a backup or for another club to spend assets to acquire him. 

Regardless if there's a move completed before trade deadline, Kent Hughes needs to reflect back and learn from this experience. 

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