The 2025-26 season has been a tough one for Montreal Canadiens goalie Samuel Montembeault. Due to his struggles, the 29-year-old has lost the Canadiens' No. 1 goalie job, and questions about his long-term future have come up because of it. In 25 appearances this season with the Canadiens, Montembeault has a 10-8-4 record, a 3.43 goals-against average, and an .872 save percentage. This is after he had a 31-24-7 record, a 2.82 goals-against average, and a .902 save percentage this past season with Montreal. Montembeault was also assigned to the Laval Rocket on an AHL conditioning loan back in December, where he had a 0-2-0 record and a .904 save percentage in two appearances. While this season has not gone to plan for Montembeault, his past success will make him an interesting bounce-back candidate to watch next season. However, Montembeault has now landed some praise. The Canadiens' netminder was given the No. 1 spot on The Athletic's goalie mask power rankings [https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7164742/2026/04/06/2026-nhl-goalie-mask-power-rankings/], and it is hard to disagree with their take. Montembeault's snake mask is an incredible look. Canadiens: Montembeault’s Amazing New Bucket [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/787525ca-4646-46a4-af7b-35b5dd9f1be0.jpeg] Canadiens: Montembeault’s Amazing New Bucket Samuel Montembeault looked like a new man in the net on Wednesday night. He played a fantastic game backstopping the Montreal Canadiens to a 5-1 win while rocking a brand new mask thanks to artist Jordon Bourgeault. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-montembeault-s-amazing-new-bucket] Joey Daccord (Seattle Kraken), John Gibson (Detroit Red Wings), Scott Wedgewood (Colorado Avalanche), and Jake Oettinger (Dallas Stars) were ranked behind Montembeault in The Athletic's goalie mask rankings. While they all have great masks, there is no question that Montembeault's mask is the coolest.
