The Montreal Canadiens have deployed an influx of goaltenders since franchise legend Carey Price stepped away from the game following an attempted comeback after their 2020-21 Stanley Cup Final heartbreak. The team had five goalies start at least one game in 2021-22 — Price, Jake Allen, Samuel Montembeault, Cayden Primeau, Andrew Hammond, and Michael McNiven. With Price now unofficially retired, only Montembeault and Primeau remain on the roster.
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In addition to the young duo, the Canadiens have several notable goaltending prospects on their radar — Jakub Dobes of the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Laval Rocket and the emerging Jacob Fowler of Boston College. It’s unlikely any of these players will reach the lofty standard set by the phenomenal play of Price, but complemented with one of the most promising young defensive groups and prospect pools in the NHL, surely one will cement himself as the Canadiens exit their rebuild and aim to compete.
Cayden Primeau (#30, Montreal Canadiens)
Cayden Primeau has been up and down from the Laval Rocket regularly since as early as 2019-20. The 24-year-old only has 38 NHL games to his name and sports an ugly 3.48 goals-against average (GAA) and .890 save percentage (SV%). The 2019 Mike Richter Award (NCAA top goalie) winner’s numbers in the AHL have been better, though not spectacular, rocking a .909 SV% in 123 games. However, with Dobes and free agent signee Kasimir Kaskisuo arriving in Laval this season, Primeau has seen a career-high 17 games of action with the big club. Despite posting poor numbers in previous seasons (albeit on weak Canadiens teams), he sports a cool 2.85 GAA and .910 SV%.
His most recent start was a 36-save performance against the Seattle Kraken, which the Habs won decisively 5-1. Two weeks before, in what was arguably his strongest performance to date, he earned his second shutout of the season, stopping all 41 shots from the Columbus Blue Jackets. He has a 2-1-0 record since the team traded Allen to the New Jersey Devils, but he is already 24 years old and his 17 starts this season are a career-best, so it appears that the Michigan native is trending towards the role of quality backup.
Jakub Dobes (#71, Laval Rocket)
Taking a similar development path to Primeau, Jakub Dobes has followed two stellar seasons at Ohio State University of the NCAA with a high-volume…
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