“Joe Sakic once said he spent the first few years of his career trying to prove he belonged in the NHL. And he spent the rest proving he could stay in the NHL.”
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Archive photo, AFP
Samuel Montembeault was still beaming as he appeared before the media the day after signing his three-year contract that will pay him $3.15 million per campaign starting next fall.
Quoting the former Nordiques and Avalanche captain is not trivial. After all, waiver clearance is pretty much the lowest status an NHL player can reach. When the Canadian made the claim from Florida on October 2, 2021, the Bécancourois had to prove everything.
“I have made great progress. I have a good relationship with Eric [Raymond, l’entraîneur des gardiens de but]. We both work really well together. He helped me a lot to improve.”
Progress and persistence
The progress is such that, despite holding the net behind a young and fragile team, Montembeault leads in efficiency with 5-for-5 (.948). No one would have bet on it when the lanky athlete came to Montreal due to Carey Price’s health problems.
This season, he was the Habs’ busiest masked man with 38 appearances in front of the net. He finished the campaign with an underwhelming goals-against average of 3.77 and an efficiency percentage of 0.891. In his defense, he practically had an American League team in front of him due to numerous injuries.
“Since Sam has been here we have seen the progress in his game. We also see some consistency. Now it’s up to him to keep it up,” said Kent Hughes.
The man for the job?
The agreement signed on Friday is valid until the end of the 2026-2027 season. At this point it can be assumed that the rebuilding of the team is coming to an end. Montembeault will then be 30 years old. Will he be the number one goalie as this team matures?
“If Sam is able to carry on like this, we would be crazy not to want to keep him. But that still needs to be sorted out,” argued Hughes, noting that the progress of his other young players is also difficult to predict.
Montembeault is having a very good season. However, it remains to be seen how he will perform when it comes time to handle the workload of a number one. Tighter starts, for example sequences of two games within 24 hours.
The threesome ends
We may receive an answer to this question in the coming weeks. When the trio finally ends in front of the Canadian’s goal.
“Did we say at the start of the season that we would have a three-man goalie rotation throughout the season? NO. But the risk of losing Sam at the end of the season left us with no other choice, as our goalies from the American League have to play in the American League.
This question has now been resolved, the rest should unfold quickly. Additionally, Hughes said the pressure is now on him to bring this situation to an end.