With the Canadiens’ opening-night roster deadline closing in, Samuel Montembeault is still sitting right in the middle of trade chatter.
Jimmy Murphy reported that Montreal is continuing to try to move the Quebec goaltender before the season begins, and that the conversation has not gone away even after a strong camp from Montembeault. His name has been floating around all summer, but no deal has come together yet.
Murphy said, “The Canadiens are still trying to trade Samuel Montembeault before the start of the season.
That's what several sources are telling him.”
That timing matters. Montembeault has looked good since camp reopened, but the market is not exactly buzzing for goalies right now. Unless a major injury shakes up another NHL club, there simply are not many teams in position to pay a fair price for a 29-year-old netminder.
Kent Hughes is still believed to be looking for that kind of return. If the Canadiens get the offer they want, a move could happen quickly. If not, the front office will have to make a bigger call in short order.
One possible outcome would leave Montreal with Jakub Dobes and Jacob Fowler as its main goaltending options to open the season. The more straightforward path, though, is that Montembeault stays put and starts the year with Dobes.
In that case, Fowler would keep building his game with the Laval Rocket and get the kind of playing time that comes with a heavier workload.
Montreal has until 5:00 PM on September 28 to submit its final 23-player roster, and that clock is ticking fast.
In Other News...
Former Canadiens Are Suddenly Fighting For Their NHL Futures
A cluster of familiar names hit waivers on Sept. 25, turning what is usually a routine roster squeeze into a reminder of how quickly NHL careers can shift. Joshua Roy, Jordan Harris, Sean Farrell and Corey Schueneman were among the players exposed, and for Canadiens fans, the list carries extra weight because these are all skaters who had been part of Montreals pipeline or recent roster picture.
Roy, Harris and Farrell had already been moved on from by Montreal earlier this offseason or in recent years, which makes this latest round of roster churn feel less like a surprise than a checkpoint. Add in Marc Del Gaizo and William Trudeau, both of whom were with the Laval Rocket last season and were placed on waivers by the New York Rangers, and the wider picture gets clearer: former Canadiens and recent organization pieces are suddenly fighting to keep their NHL paths alive. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Linked To Kirby Dach As Bigger Roster Questions Loom
The Canadiens roster picture keeps widening beyond Montreal, and Kirby Dach has suddenly become part of that larger conversation. Around the league, teams are watching how contenders and cap-conscious clubs position themselves with the NHLs salary ceiling set to keep climbing, a trend that could reshape how front offices approach player deals in the years ahead.
For Montreal, Dach sits in the middle of a bigger valuation question than just one player or one contract. Interest from outside clubs is only adding to the intrigue around how the Canadiens see his role and how other teams see his upside, especially as trade chatter and contract strategy start to overlap with a cap environment that should look very different by the end of the decade. [Read more 🡒]
Florian Xhekaj Is Making The Canadiens Opening Night Decision Tough
Florian Xhekaj has turned a straightforward roster conversation into one of the more interesting camp questions around the Canadiens. Nick Suzuki and Phillip Danault have both offered strong backing for the young forward, pointing to the way he plays and, in Danaults case, the faceoff ability that can matter so much when coaches start sorting out the bottom of the lineup. Around the organization, the support has been building too, with Kent Hughes and Martin St-Louis also noting his consistency and presence.
For a player trying to force his way onto the opening-night roster, that kind of attention matters, especially this late in camp. Xhekaj has given the Canadiens enough to think about that the decision no longer looks routine, and the preseason finale now looms as the place where he can make one last impression before the final call is made. [Read more 🡒]