Hockey

Samuel Montembeault and the Olympics: Let’s talk about his rivals for a job
Marc-Olivier Cook
Samuel Montembeault and the Olympics: Let’s talk about his rivals for a job
Credit: Getty Images

Is Samuel Montembeault playing like a guy who deserves to be in the next Olympics?

No. The answer is no.

Does this mean that Samuel Montembeault won't be taking part in the next Olympic Games? Again… not necessarily. Because if you look at the work of Canada's NHL goalkeepers since the start of the season, you can see just how little depth there is. And Pierre LeBrun was right to point this out on Tony Marinaro's Sick Podcast:

If you look at the stats for each goalie, you realize that they've all (or almost all) struggled since the start of the season. And I'm not exaggerating:

  • 8-1-0 record for Scott Wedgewood (2.49 and .902)
  • 6-3-0 Logan Thompson (2.57 and .938)
  • 3-5-0 record for Jordan Binnington (2.34 and .859)
  • 4-3-1 record for Darcy Kuemper (2.57 and .900)
  • 4-3-1 record for Stuart Skinner (2.54 and .899)

Those stats are better than Monty's, of course. But…

Obviously, things are going relatively well for Wedgewood and Thompson. But we know that, basically, it's Jordan Binnington who's going to have the confidence of Canada's management because he's the one who helped the club win the 4 Nations Confrontation a few months ago.

And Thompson wasn't selected for the 4 Nations because they didn't see him as Binnington's assistant. Are they thinking along the same lines? Because if so…

What may help Monty is that he's already done the club… and smashed it at the World Championship in 2023. He still finished the tournament with a 6-1-0 record, a 1.42 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage…

Management knows him well, to put it another way, and it's not for nothing that he was selected for the 4 Nations team last February.

They believed in him… and maybe they'll want to do the same, even if the Québécois is having a tough time in front of the net. Because then again, it's not as if all Canada's other goaltenders are dominant in the National League at the moment.

And that, too, can help Monty…


Overtime

– Sick.

– Boys!

– Good point.

– Oh.

– News from MLB.

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