The offseason leading into the 2025-26 season continues, and with the major events such as the NHL Entry Draft and free agent frenzy completed, the dog days of summer wear on as NHL management groups take a bit of a breather before the training camps begin. In this series, I will try to investigate every Montreal Canadiens roster player, recap their last season and look ahead to this upcoming season. I will look at their place in the organization, their role and their possible impact.
Related: Canadiens 2025-26 Player Previews: Samuel Montembeault
In the next step of the series, I will continue to look at the goaltending situation with the Canadiens’ current backup, Jakub Dobes.
2024-25 Season Recap
Dobes was the Canadiens’ fifth-round selection in 2020, and in his rookie professional season in 2023-24, put up impressive numbers in his 51 starts with the American Hockey League (AHL) Laval Rocket with a record of 24-18-6, 2.93 goals against average (GAA) and a .906 save percentage (SV%). While this wasn’t enough to pull the Rocket into the AHL playoffs, it was enough to earn him the confidence from management to be the starter in Laval.
In 2024-25, Dobes started in Laval 14 times, earning a 9-3-1 record with a 2.44 GAA and .910 SV%. This earned him a call-up to the Canadiens on Dec. 27. Once on the roster, Dobes immediately made a case to remain permanently. One day after his call-up, he made his NHL debut, and the 6-foot-4 goaltender made headlines with a 34-save performance as the Canadiens earned a 4-0 shutout win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. He won his first five NHL starts while allowing only eight goals for a 1.55 GAA and .940 SV%.
His next 11 starts saw him struggle somewhat, but provided Montreal with an opportunity to pick up points in most of those games with a 2-4-3 record. He finished the regular season with solid numbers for a backup goaltender, a 7-4-3 record with a 2.74 GAA and a .909 SV%. Unexpectedly, he was forced to step into the starter’s role in the playoffs versus the Washington Capitals when Samuel Montembeault went down with an injury. Dobes backstopped the Canadiens to a victory in that game, their only one of the series. By the time Montreal had been eliminated, Dobes had a 1-2 record with a 2.91 GAA and .881 SV%.
2025-26 Season Expectations
Dobes will go into 2025-26 with a new two-year contract paying him $965,000 per season. For…
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