The Montreal Canadiens’ goaltending picture is still cloudy, and Samuel Montembeault has now been pushed firmly into the trade conversation.
With 35 days left before the start of the season, there’s still no clear answer on how the team plans to sort out its crease. The Hockey News recently revisited the situation for Canadiens fans, and the uncertainty only seems to be growing.
Rookie camp opens in two weeks, followed by main camp a week later, but the plan in goal remains unsettled. One option that has come up often - sending Jacob Fowler to Laval and keeping Montembeault as the backup - does not appear to be the direction Montreal is leaning, according to Max Truman.
The logic is straightforward. Fowler is viewed as the better goaltender right now, and deliberately weakening the NHL roster would run counter to Kent Hughes’ approach.
The other route would be sending Montembeault to Laval, but that would mean he’d need to clear waivers, with another team also taking on his $3.15 million salary. That’s why a trade has emerged as the most sensible path.
There had been some thought that the issue might be resolved in June, but nothing has happened yet.
“Samuel Montembeault is another clear goalie trade candidate to keep an eye on between now and the 2026-27 season.”
- Michael DeRosa
Even so, DeRosa noted the obstacle facing Montreal: Montembeault’s value has never been lower, which makes outside interest harder to generate and limits the return the Canadiens could expect in any deal.
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