Jakub Dobes turning heads as Canadiens weigh extension decision
Jakub Dobes has gone from $965,000 afterthought to the most important name in the Montreal Canadiens organization, and Kent Hughes already wants to lock him up.
The Canadiens flew into Buffalo this morning ahead of tonight's Game 1 against the Sabres, with the rookie carrying a heat check most of the league would kill for.
Dobes has stopped 98 of 102 shots over his last stretch in the postseason. That's not a hot streak. That's a goalie playing on another planet.
Through seven playoff games, his save percentage sits at .923. His regular season number was .901 across 43 starts. The jump in pressure has done the opposite of what most rookies experience.
And here's the kicker. Hughes has reportedly already informed the camp that Montreal wants to talk extension the moment it's allowed, on July 1.
- Maxime Truman, DLC
Dobes carries a $900,000 actual salary next season before becoming a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. The leverage clock is ticking loud.
The Sabres goaltending mess gives Montreal the edge tonight
Buffalo enters this series in full goaltender chaos. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen finished the regular season with a .908 save percentage, then collapsed at .821 across two playoff games against Boston.
He hasn't been seen since. Alex Lyon, a 33-year-old career backup, posted a .955 save percentage in five playoff appearances to bail out the Sabres, but he's now the guy.
The Canadiens went 2-2 against the Sabres in four regular season meetings, splitting wins both at home and on the road. Buffalo finished with 109 points and a 50-23-9 record, three points clear of Montreal.
But goaltending tilts everything in May. Lyon has more AHL starts than NHL starts career-wise. Dobes was in Laval not that long ago. One of these guys is about to break.
Then there's the Jacob Fowler question hovering over the front office. The 21-year-old American posted a .908 save percentage in 17 AHL games this season with one shutout.
If Hughes is convinced Dobes is the goalie of the future, what happens to Fowler? Trade chip? Insurance policy? Long-term backup plan that gets reshuffled the second the extension ink dries?
Samuel Montembeault, meanwhile, watches from the press box. His .873 save percentage and $3.15 million cap hit make him the obvious summer cap casualty.
Hughes has a window to pay a goalie who outplayed his deal by a country mile. Wait too long, and Dobes prices himself into a different conversation entirely.
Puck drops tonight in Buffalo. Whatever Dobes does next, the agent on the other end of that phone call in July is taking notes.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 5, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Nathan MacKinnon | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Gabriel Landeskog | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Martin Necas | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brett Kulak | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Marcus Johansson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Kirill Kaprizov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Valeri Nichushkin | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nicolas Roy | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Brent Burns | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ross Colton | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ryan Hartman | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Daemon Hunt | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nazem Kadri | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brock Nelson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Danila Yurov | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mats Zuccarello | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nick Blankenburg | - | - | - | |
| Matthew Boldy | - | - | - | |
| Jack Drury | - | - | - | |
| Brock Faber | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||