Samuel Montembeault's grip on the Canadiens' net is loosening, and Martin St-Louis has a decision to make heading into next season.
The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro posted Thursday that it's looking "more and more likely" Montembeault starts next season as the backup, not the guy.
Stu Cowan joined the show and laid out why. Jacob Fowler barely played across three rounds of the playoffs this spring, a total that Cowan flagged as damaging for a 21 year old goalie who needs starts, not splinters.
Montembeault posted a .873 save percentage across 25 games this season with 5 wins. Jakub Dobes, by contrast, put up a .901 save percentage over 43 games and won 20.
That gap is not subtle. It is the difference between a guy the coach trusts with the season on the line and a guy fighting to stay relevant on his own roster.
Fowler still finished with a .908 save percentage in 17 games, tied for the best mark on the team among goalies who played more than a handful of outings.
Fowler's playoff freeze raises bigger development questions
According to Cowan, the emerging plan in Montreal is Dobes as the number one, Montembeault sliding into the backup role, and Fowler heading down to Laval to actually play instead of watching from the bench during the games that matter most.
It is hard to argue with the logic. A kid with Fowler's numbers should not be logging single digit minutes when the games get real. Burying him on the bench in the playoffs does nothing for his growth, and burying him again next season would be worse.
Montembeault, meanwhile, carries a cap hit of $3,150,000. That number matters now, because his trade value has cratered. No team wants to acquire a goalie coming off a season below .880 with real term left on the deal.
Kent Hughes could try to move him anyway. But at this valuation, Montreal would likely have to eat money or attach an asset just to get a deal done, and that is not a spot the front office wants to negotiate from.
So the Canadiens are stuck holding a $3.15 million backup they can't really sell, a number one in Dobes who has already outproduced him, and a top prospect who needs reps more than he needs another year riding the pine.
-
Nothing about this is settled. Training camp will decide who actually opens the season in the crease, and Fowler's patience in Laval has a shelf life.
Should the Canadiens demote Samuel Montembeault to backup next season?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Hockey community mourning the loss of beloved legendary NHL voice Peter Maher
