New contract good for Montembeault, potentially great for Canadiens

MONTREAL — Samuel Montembeault signed a three-year, $9.45-million contract on Friday, giving the Montreal Canadiens one less hole to fill as they continue to build themselves into contenders.

It’s a good deal for him, and it could be a great one for them. Montembeault just turned 27 on Oct. 30, he’s just taken his first step into his prime, and currently has a better save percentage and has saved more expected goals this season than 13 of the 25 goaltenders in the NHL earning more than he is set to start earning next season.

The value is undeniable for the Canadiens, and this contract should have Montembeault feeling valued as well.

He came into this season with just 103 games of NHL experience under his belt, but the Canadiens were still willing to make a medium-term bet on what they’ve seen from him over his 88 in their uniform. That’s not a tiny sample, but it isn’t such a large one to have guaranteed he’d get a deal out of them he’d be happy with.

Montembeault has it now, and he has to be elated about it. The Becancour, Que. native was approaching free agency this summer, but said on multiple occasions there was no place he’d rather be than in between the pipes in his home province and playing for the team he grew up cheering for. Having this settled now also gives him much-needed peace of mind and should knock the trade rumours revolving around him out of the air.

They were swirling at full velocity, with the Edmonton Oilers at the heart of them and seemingly desperate for an upgrade after a quarter season of hemorrhaging goals and Montembeault qualifying as a player who could help stop the bleeding. But this deal effectively killed those rumours.

How Montembeault dealt with them over the past month — while he was entrenched in negotiations — and managed to only elevate his performance would’ve only given the Canadiens less pause about giving him this deal. He’s been cool as an ocean breeze, which, as goaltending partner Jake Allen noted in conversation with Sportsnet just 10 days ago, is as good of a quality as someone in his position could possess.

“I think he’s day-in, day-out consistently,” Allen added. “He’s the same on the ice, same in here (in the room), same at practice, and I think that brings him success. I think that’s his recipe. Demeanour, style of play, technical play — his game doesn’t alter whether he has a good game or a bad game. He’s always there. I’ve been very impressed, going back to the beginning of last year, with how consistent he’s been. You’re not going to have good games all the time, and you’re going to have bad games, but the majority of his games he’s been so consistent and reliable, and that’s the most important thing you can be in this league as a goalie. Especially from a longevity standpoint. 

“And I’ve been really impressed with him, especially with how he’s handled (the pressure) in being a Quebecker…” 

It’s been historically overbearing for any gars de chez nous, and completely suffocating for one at Montembeault’s specific position.

But the goaltender, who’s won five of nine starts and posted a .910 save percentage and the league’s 19^th-best goals saved above expected among goaltenders who have made at least as many appearances this season, has risen above it.

Montembeault’s experience as Canada’s best player in a gold-medal bid at the world championship last spring was a pressure-packed experience that probably only helped, and it had to have only reinforced to the Canadiens that he was someone they could move forward with beyond this season.

If they traded him right now, they’d spend the next three years looking for two goaltenders who are at least as good. Instead, they locked him up and bought themselves time with the ones they have in their system to prove they can share his net.

Despite one off game on Thursday, Cayden Primeau is emerging as a candidate to do that. Perhaps he emerges as an even better player as more opportunity presents itself over the term of Montembeault’s contract, which does not include trade protection.

Jakub Dobes is 22, in his first year of professional hockey, and he too could prove to be an option down the line.

Jacob Fowler, who was chosen 69^th overall by the Canadiens in the 2023 NHL Draft, is off to a remarkable start in the NCAA, with a .931 save percentage through his first 14 starts as a true freshman at Boston College. He’ll be graduating by the time Montembeault’s deal will be expiring.

It could be around the same time that Quentin Miller (taken 128^th in 2023) or Yevgeni Volokhin (who went 144^th) emerge as options.

The Canadiens won’t need to rush with any of them. That only reinforced the worth of this Montembeault contract to them.

Evaluating the goaltender’s body of work—which, again, isn’t enormous—the Canadiens also didn’t spend too much to keep him in the fold. If anything, if Montembeault continues to play as he has for most of his time in their uniform, he’ll provide exceptional value on his upcoming contract.

Montembeault is already doing that for just $1 million this season, and chances are he’ll be doing more of it now that this is settled.

The Canadiens have had him in a three-goaltender rotation, but he’s earned more volume and is likely to receive it as the season rolls on — especially if Allen ends up traded down the line.

He’s a serviceable player who can help several teams shore up their goaltending. The 34-year-old has a seven-team no-trade clause, so it can’t be just any team, and he also has a cap hit of $3.85 million through next season, but those things won’t necessarily be prohibitive when weighed against his experience and ability.

We’ll see how that gets settled as we move along. With Montembeault’s contract securing him in Montreal, there’s a better chance of it getting settled sooner rather than later.