Samuel Montembeault: Martin St-Louis confirms that we should see him again in Pittsburgh

Earlier today, Samuel Montembeault was traded to the Laval Rocket. The Québécois will spend a conditioning stint in the AHL, playing two games in Cleveland.

These two games will take place on Thursday and Saturday.

The question now was when the goalie would return to the big club. Theoretically, he could spend two weeks with the club-school… but it won't be as long as that.

The theory was that we'd see him again on Sunday, when the club would be in Pittsburgh. And now, after the game, Martin St-Louis has confirmed that this is indeed the plan.

He'll be leaving Cleveland for Pittsburgh, where he'll be reunited with the Habs.

Martin St. Louis says plan is for Samuel Montembeault to rejoin Canadiens Sunday in Pittsburgh after playing a couple of games with Laval Rocket in Cleveland #Habs

– Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) December 17, 2025

So, in theory, Montembeault will be an option for the Habs on Sunday night against the Penguins. However, considering that he will have played the night before and will have traveled, we probably shouldn't expect to see him in net for that game.

The goaltender for Sunday will almost certainly be the one who didn't play on Saturday between Jacob Fowler and Jakub Dobes.

It should also be remembered that the Habs play another game before Christmas, when they take on the Bruins in Boston on December 23. It's conceivable that this game could be an opportunity for Montembeault to get back into the Canadiens' net.

It should be noted, however, that Fowler and Dobes will still be in town at that time. The club will need both goalies for the two games in two nights this weekend, and there's a transaction freeze in effect as of Saturday morning.

It won't be until after the holidays that one guy will return to Laval… assuming the club doesn't want to continue the ménage à trois experiment, of course.

Extension

On the subject of his team's game tonight, Martin St-Louis said he didn't think his club played a bad game. The coach thought the Habs played a mature game… but that they were a little unlucky.

Habs coach Marty St. Louis on his team's 4-1 loss tonight:

“In terms of the things we talk about, consistency and maturity, I thought in the last two games, we played a mature game tonight. We didn't give up much to Philadelphia. We were just a little bit unlucky….” pic.twitter.com/IbtNqhAd3N

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) December 17, 2025