Mid-game the Oilers made a deal to acquire veteran backup Al Montoya for a 5th round pick that can become a 4th based on the condition of playing 7 or more games.
Al Montoya suffered a concussion and hasn’t played since early November. Before that he had appeared in just 4 games and has a .863 save percentage. The numbers this year aren’t exciting at all, but he’s been better the last 2 seasons between his time in Montreal and Florida.
Dating back to 2013-2014 here are Montoya’s stats
2013-2014 28GP, 13-8-3 .920 sv% 2014-2015 20GP, 6-7-2 .892 sv% 2015-2016 25GP, 12-7-3 .919 sv% 2016-2017 19GP, 8-6-4 .912 sv% 2017-2018 4GP, 2-1-0 .863 sv%
It was reported by Reid Wilkins that Laurent Brossoit felt blindsided by the move. This will mean that he’s placed on waivers for the purpose of assignment to the AHL.
Laurent Brossoit has an .886 save percentage through 13 games this season and has a .899 career save percentage. I think the team wants LB to be playing hockey, honing his game in the AHL. There’s nothing wrong with that. In the AHL, prospect Nick Ellis has a .903 save percentage this season and there’s no reason why LB cant give Bakersfield a boost and perform more than that.
The timing and cost of the deal are a little questionable for Edmonton. They needed a better backup when Talbot was hurt but weren’t able to make anything happen. Now it’s not certain at all that the 2G will even play 7 games this year. As for the cost, there have been younger players with higher upsides who were on waivers early in the year. I mean, Malcom Subban has a .922 sv% with Vegas this season and he was free to the world in October.
Trading what might potentially be a 4th rounder for Montoya, who hasn’t played in months, is pricey compared to the other options that were available. It’s not going to cripple the team or anything, but it’s Chiarelli paying more than others yet again.
We wait to see what ultimately happens with Brossoit.
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