|
In Hainsight: What About Montembeault? |
|
|
|
|
|
Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
I owe Samuel Montembeault an apology. Last offseason, I wrote that the Allen-Montembeault tandem was exactly what the Canadiens needed in order not to win too many games, but Montembeault’s second season in Montreal was an impressive one. Sure, if you just look at the numbers, a 3.42 GAA and a .901 SP are nothing to write home about, but you’ve got to put those numbers in context. The 26-year-old netminder played 40 games behind one of the youngest and most inexperienced defense corps in the league and he was in 13th league wide for goals saved above expected according to Evolving Hockey.
Then, at the World Championships, he acted as Team Canada’s number one and backstopped the country to an unexpected gold medal considering the lack of star power in the line-up. With Jake Allen under contract for the next 2 seasons and Cayden Primeau having failed to impress so far, Montembeault finds himself in an interesting position. His current deal will expire at the end of next season, and he could be heading to unrestricted free agency, but he’s already let it be known that he is not really interested in testing the market. Montembeault said to Arpon Basu from The Athletic: “I love being here, I like the group of guys too. I think that the organization is going in the right direction, so I just want to be part of it.”
Montembeault also told The Athletic that his agent Paul Corbeil will be at the draft and that he hopes to be able to talk to Kent Hughes about a possible extension since the netminder will be eligible to sign one from July 1st. There’s no doubt that Kent Hughes will be insanely busy, but Montembeault would be happy to sign a new deal during the training camp or even later in the year like Jordan Harris did last season.
Overall, I think Montembeault is definitely better than plenty of people (including myself) gave him credit for, but it’s too early to say if he could be a legitimate number one in the NHL. Thankfully the Canadiens have got time on their hands while the rebuilt marches on. They’ll probably be looking to draft a goalie or two next week in Nashville, but goalies rarely come into their own quickly and that gives Montembeault some time to prove just how high he could fly.
If I was in Ken Hughes’ shoes, I’d try and sign him to a 2-year extension ending after the 2025-2026 season, by then, the Habs should be ready to start to seriously compete and if Montembeault carries on on his upwards trajectory, perhaps a new deal will be in the cards then, if he doesn’t, chances are Hughes will already have put another plan into action to fill the critical goaltending position.
I ran a Twitter poll on the subject earlier this week and the 2-year pact seems to be the preferred course of action. Interestingly, 36 of the 160 voters would go as far as signing Mounty to a 4-year deal, while 12 voters believe the Habs shouldn’t extend him at all. What would you do?
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»