Samuel Montembeault may look like the odd man out in Montreal’s goaltending picture, but the Canadiens don’t need to rush him anywhere.
With Jacob Fowler rising as one of the organization’s top prospects and Jakub Dobes looking ready to take on a bigger role, moving Montembeault once seemed like the obvious next step. But the market has shifted fast. The teams that once looked like natural trade partners for the Canadiens have mostly taken care of their crease, and that leaves Kent Hughes with a lot fewer places to send the veteran than it did a few weeks ago.
That matters. The Edmonton Oilers, who had been connected to just about every available goalie, solved their situation by acquiring Devon Levi via trade from the Buffalo Sabres before signing Frederik Andersen in free agency.
The Toronto Maple Leafs also filled their need by signing Sergei Bobrovsky. As more clubs settled their depth chart in net, the list of desperate buyers shrank.
There could still be a market later. Injuries always open doors, and another team may decide it needs help before training camp or early in the season.
But right now, the Canadiens are not staring at the kind of crowded bidding war that would make a Montembeault move feel urgent. And Montreal has already shown in this rebuild that it prefers waiting for the right deal instead of settling for less.
That’s why keeping him makes plenty of sense.
Montembeault handled a tricky stretch last season well. After losing his job completely to Dobes and Fowler during Montreal’s playoff push, he reportedly stayed a strong teammate and kept backing the younger goalies. He also made it clear that he likes playing in Montreal and would be happy to stay with the organization.
There’s no reason to force Fowler into the NHL before he’s ready, either. He has real upside, but like most goaltenders, he still needs reps.
Another full season with the Laval Rocket would give him the kind of nightly workload that actually helps a young goalie grow. Sitting on an NHL bench for long stretches wouldn’t do nearly as much for his development.
Dobes, meanwhile, has earned a shot to show he can be the Canadiens’ number-one goaltender. His strong finish to last season and the way he carried himself during the playoff race made that clear. In that setup, Montembeault becomes the backup.
And that role still matters. Over an 82-game season, every team needs dependable depth in goal.
Starters get hurt, legs get tired, and rough patches show up for everybody. Having a veteran who can step in for 25 to 35 games gives the Canadiens insurance while Dobes adjusts to the demands of being an NHL starter.
Montembeault doesn’t have to take the crease back. He just has to be steady when called upon.
Patience has been the theme under Hughes, and this situation fits that approach. Montembeault is entering the final year of his contract, but that doesn’t mean his value is fixed. It could rise during the season.
Contenders lose goalies to injury every year, and plenty of teams start thinking differently once the trade deadline gets closer. That’s when experienced goaltenders on expiring deals can become much more attractive than they are in the summer.
If Montembeault plays well as Montreal’s backup, Hughes could have more interested teams next March than he does now. Keeping him would also ease the pressure on both young goalies. Fowler would keep developing in Laval instead of being rushed, and Dobes wouldn’t be asked to carry a full NHL starter’s workload without a safety net behind him.
That part is easy to overlook, but it’s important. Dobes finished last season brilliantly, but he has never been an NHL starter for a full 82-game campaign. Asking him to jump straight into 55 or 60 games without an experienced backup would be a major gamble.
So the Canadiens have a simple option in front of them: keep Montembeault, preserve their depth, let the young goalies develop the right way, and see whether his trade value climbs later. Sometimes the smartest move is the one that waits.
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Canadiens Delay On Bolduc And Xhekaj Signals Something Bigger Ahead
Montreals offseason to-do list still has some important names on it, and the wait on Zach Bolduc and Arber Xhekaj fits the way Kent Hughes has handled the roster so far. The Canadiens have been careful with their cap space, keeping flexibility while also trying to shape the lineup around bigger moves, and that means even with more than $14 million available, nothing is moving in a straight line.
Kirby Dach is still unsigned too, but Bolduc and Xhekaj are in a different spot because there is no hard signing clock pushing either side into a quick deal. They are not the kind of restricted free agents who scream offer-sheet risk, which helps explain the patience, but the bigger question is whether Montreals pursuit of a top-six forward on the trade market changes the math and forces the club to settle its remaining business sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]
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Canadiens Fans Just Got Another Reason To Love Lane Hutson's Deal
Pavel Mintyukovs new deal in Anaheim is another reminder of how quickly the market for young defensemen has climbed, and it also gives Canadiens fans a fresh way to look at Lane Hutsons contract. Montreal was among the teams linked to Mintyukov before he decided to stay put, so the comparison is more than just theoretical for a club that has been hunting for blue-line help and watching the price tag on that kind of player keep rising.
Hutsons value only looks better against that backdrop. His production has already separated him from Mintyukovs, and the contract gap feels even wider when the market is pushing upward around them. For the Canadiens, it is the kind of development that makes an already favorable deal look even sharper, even if the broader defenseman market is still leaving plenty of room for more expensive decisions elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]