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In Hainsight: End of Season Ratings – Goaltenders |
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Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
It wasn’t Kent Hughes preferred option to start the season with three goaltenders, but he had to. Considering the market wasn’t great for netminders in the offseason, it was already a miracle that he had managed to send Casey DeSmith elsewhere after getting him as a plus one in the Petry deal. Given the very real possibility of losing Cayden Primeau on waivers if he sent him to Laval, the GM bit the bullet and started the year with Jake Allen, Samuel Montembeault, and Primeau all with the Canadiens.
He very nearly ended it with all three as well, the Devils tried to acquire Allen long before the trade deadline, but he blocked the deal thinking he wouldn’t get enough play time in New Jersey. Turns out he might have had more over there, but he wasn’t to know. Without further ado, here are the goaltenders’ grades for this past season.
Jake Allen: While he didn’t finish the year in Montreal, the veteran goalie did play 21 games with the Canadiens before setting sail for New Jersey. By all accounts, this was Allen’s worst season in Montreal. Before the trade, he had a 3.65 GAA and a .892 SP. In the run-up to the trade deadline, he had a few sub-par performances cue the jokes about him not wanting to be traded. When he was in net, the players looked less confident on the ice and that’s never a good sign. For his last season in Montreal, Allen got a D+ from me.
Samuel Montembeault: While Allen had his worst season with the Habs, Montembeault had his best yet. In 41 games he kept a 3.14 GAA and a .903 SP. You know all those 1-goal defeats we heard so much about during the exit interviews? His name was all over those. The GM liked what he saw and signed the Becancour native to a three-year extension in early December. All year, he was the best option in net and while Hughes doesn’t like to label his goalies, he begrudgingly confirmed Montembeault was his number one. For me, Mounty gets a B+ on the year.
Cayden Primeau: I feared the threesome would hinder Primeau’s development, but it seems he came out unscathed. After Allen was traded, Primeau went into a tear, winning the Molson Cup for March. In 23 starts this season, he managed a 2.99 GAA and a .910 SP. However, the month of April was quite different, and it showed Primeau still doesn’t have enough consistency in his game. Overall though, this season is a good base to build on and I think Primeau is worthy of a B-. I’m aware his stats were better than those of Montembeault but on a much smaller sample and with a lot less tough matchups.
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