When Samuel Montembeault and Brady Keeper received three speeding tickets in an 8-hour drive

It’s no secret now that Samuel Montembeault is in Montreal to stay. He is the team’s most trusted goaltender, signed for three more seasons.

The goalie will receive a salary of $3.1 million annually until 2027-2028.

When I say he’s in Montreal to stay, it’s because he’s unlikely to be demoted to Laval. And big-league call-ups are no longer part of his daily routine. That’s fortunate, because he doesn’t just have fond memories of his first big-league call-ups.

At the end of a season with the Florida Panthers, he and teammate Brady Keeper were recalled by Florida. It was supposed to be a good time, but the 8 a.m. drive from Syracuse to Chicago took a nightmarish turn. It was Keeper who was driving, and he wasn’t stopped by the police once or twice, but three times.

It must have been expensive… While visiting La Poche Bleue a few years ago, Monty shared this story with Max and Guillaume.

@lapochebleue Three tickets in three states, the most expensive recall in history for Montembeault and his teammate? #habs #lapochebleue #podcast #hockey #lnh ♬ original sound – lapochebleue

Not to excuse the driver’s speeding, but the two players were in quite a hurry and had to get to Chicago by 11am the next morning… Spoiler alert a few years later: they didn’t make it in time….

Keeper, now an unrestricted free agent, played two NHL games. Both with the Panthers.

Last season, he played in the same organization as Samuel, with the Laval Rocket. He finished the season with four points in 22 games. At present, he’s still a UFA, waiting for a team to give him a chance.

Monty, on the other hand, is more financially stable. Let’s just say he could pay for some of Keeper’s speed tickets if he hasn’t already, hehe.

While the back-and-forth between the AHL and NHL is probably over for the Quebecer, he’ll certainly remember this reminder for a long, long time to come.

Overtime

– We can see the difference.

The NHL’s revenue breakdown compared to the other big three North American pro sports leagues shows it’s still primarily a gate driven entity. pic.twitter.com/N05ZYk1S3k

– Allan Walsh (@walsha) July 19, 2024