The Montreal Canadiens enter the offseason with a logjam in the crease and with Samuel Montembeault losing his place in the team's goaltending tandem following an early-March loss to the Anaheim Ducks, many are wondering what the future holds for him in La belle province.
Let's take it back to where it all began for Samuel Montembeault in Montreal - October of 2021. A little over a week before the 2021-22 season began, then-Montreal Canadiens General Manager Marc Bergevin claimed Samuel Montembeault off waivers from the Florid Panthers. The move came a few months after it was revealed Carey Price would miss the majority of the season with a knee injury.
Montembeault would get the majority of the starts in his first year with the Canadiens, which also happened to be his first full season in the National Hockey League. The 29-year-old formed a tandem with Jake Allen and while the Canadiens had high hopes for the 2021-22 campaign given that they had just reached their first Stanley Cup Final in nearly three decades, they ended up finishing dead last in the league's overall standings and landed the first overall pick.
Over the following four seasons, Montembeault solidified his spot as the starting netminder for the Montreal Canadiens and also earned opportunities to represent his country, first at the 2023 IIHF World Championship and then the 4 Nations Face-Off, the latter of which he served as the third goaltender.
While Montembeault has shown on numerous occasions during his time in Montreal that he can deliver for the Canadiens when they need him the most, his play has declined, particularly over the course of the 2025-26 season, and for that reason, I'd think it's safe to say there could be a decent chance he's moved this summer.
Montreal's goaltending logjam makes Samuel Montembeault expendable
Now, while I think there's a good chance we could see Samuel Montembeault on the move this summer, it's far from a guarantee, especially with the Canadiens only having three goaltenders in the organization signed for the 2026-27 season. One phone call can change everything however and there will be interest in Montembeault, potentially from the Edmonton Oilers.
The Becancour, Quebec native has one year remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $3.15 million USD, which is fairly reasonable. Regardless of who acquires Montembeault, it's hard to say if he'd be a good option as the sole starter for a team. The acquiring club might be better off with him and another netminder in a 1A/1B situation and that's how they could get the best out of Montembeault.
Aside from the Edmonton Oilers, some other clubs I could see entering the mix for Samuel Montembeault over the next little while include the Utah Mammoth and Winnipeg Jets.
What should Kent Hughes do with goaltending tandem if Montembeault is traded?
Trading Samuel Montembeault will clear the logjam the Canadiens at the goaltending position, but also leaves the club with some really interesting possibilities to consider over the coming weeks and months.
Barring something out of the ordinary, Jakub Dobeš will be Montreal's starting goaltender to begin the 2026-27 season. He's earned that, especially after a stellar rookie campaign and the way he performed throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs, leading the Canadiens to the Eastern Conference Final.
The biggest question mark will be in regards to what the Canadiens believe is the best path forward for Jacob Fowler's development. Sitting on the bench as a backup in the National Hockey League isn't going to help Fowler grow into the number one netminder the Canadiens believe he could be in the years to come.
As I mentioned earlier this month, if the Canadiens trade Samuel Montembeault, they should bring in a goaltender with experience to play behind Jakub Dobeš next season and allow Jacob Fowler to assume the full-time starting duties with the American Hockey League's Laval Rocket. Vítek Vaněček and David Rittich are two potential free agent options for Kent Hughes to consider.
The Canadiens have a lot they'd like to accomplish throughout the summer and it's going to be very interesting to see who's in and who's out by the time training camp gets going in mid-September.