Not An Ideal Situation for the Canadiens Three Goaltenders

With Sam Montembeault’s contract extension in the books, the attention now turns back to the three-goalie tandem.

During his media availability on Saturday, Kent Hughes was not ready to share his plan concerning the three-headed monster and kept it in his back pocket far away from the other 31 teams.

“Do we want a three-goalie rotation? Did we enter the season thinking we would do this all season? No,” said Hughes limiting his words.

There’s no rush for Hughes to end the current situation. The general manager has the luxury of waiting for a satisfactory return before moving one of the goaltenders.

The first step for Hughes to resolve the goaltending situation was signing Montembeault. He did not want to risk of letting him walk at the end of the season to free agency.

Another factor that the organization kept in mind is that in case of injury, Jakob Dobes would have to be recalled if Montreal had two goalies on their roster. Hughes insisted that their goalies in Laval were not ready now for NHL competition. 

A portion of fans, media, and goaltending experts have been wanting the Canadiens trim their goaltending roster to two. Even though the current situation is not ideal, Hughes feels that goaltending has not been a problem this season.

All three goalies are playing less minutes than what they’ve been hoping for, but Hughes is downplaying the impact.

“[Jake Allen] has been a goalie for a long time in the NHL. We know what we have in him. The three-goalie rotation is probably not ideal for him, but he’s been a second goalie before where he wasn’t playing every second game anyways.”

In a perfect world, Hughes mentioned that they would be able to give Montembeault more starts to test his consistency and ability to manage a heavier workload.

Cayden Primeau was not part of the regular rotation at the beginning of the season but as of late, he’s been starting every third contest. “It’s not completely fair for him,” Hughes said. “I spoke to him and told him that it’s not ideal but at the same time, he’s in the NHL and never know when he will get his chance. I have to give credit to Cayden for keeping a good attitude, always positive in the room, and a good teammate. For the most part, he’s taken advantage of the chances he’s been given.”

The reports around interest from teams in the Canadiens goaltending situation have been present for awhile and will continue until the organization makes a decision. 

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