Samuel Montembeault and the Rangers: Here’s What’s Helping the Canadiens

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Samuel Montembeault and the Rangers: Here’s What’s Helping the Canadiens
Credit: Cameron Bartlett/Getty Images

The Rangers need help in goal. We all know that.

Joonas Korpisalo is going to miss a good month of action, and the team's No. 1 goaltender (Igor Shesterkin), as you probably know, won't be returning to action this season.

The team is stuck with Dylan Garand and Spencer Martin for now. Not ideal, no.

The Rangers may not necessarily have the roster to win the Stanley Cup as early as 2027, but let's just say they'll need more stability than this between the pipes this season.

When you're considering bringing Jonathan Quick out of retirement, that's a sign things are going badly.

The Rangers can't really go after a guy like Connor Hellebuyck because they have a long-term No. 1 goalie. They need someone to fill in this season.

And that's why Samuel Montembeault's name is coming up again in discussions. After all, the Canadiens goaltender is in the final year of his contract and surely wouldn't cost an arm and a leg.

Obviously, in the short term, the Canadiens aren't likely to trade Monty, given that he's injured. Teams that might be interested should wait to see him play before making a decision.

It was thought that this would work against the Habs in the case of the Rangers, who need a goaltender right now. However, Elliotte Friedman (Sportsnet) reports that the Rangers don't want to make a hasty decision: they want to be patient and not panic.

This certainly helps the Canadiens, who aren't in a position to make a move right now. Kent Hughes may have options (and can assess in due time whether a trade with the Rangers might become likely) later on.

I don't know if Chris Drury's team will want to get involved with Jeff Gorton's, but if the Rangers are looking for a goaltender in a few weeks, Montembeault will have to be an option.

Of course, this is contingent on him returning healthy and in top form.

The Habs' goaltender was on the market this summer, but no one was willing to pay the price to pry him away from Montreal. Will his strong training camp and injuries across the league change the situation?

Who knows.

Naturally, the team's two young goalies will have to perform well. Because if the Habs want to showcase Monty when he returns, ice time won't be easy to come by. And that's when Jakub Dobes might find the situation less amusing.

In the short term, Jacob Fowler and Jakub Dobes will continue to split duties in goal for the Canadiens. But the guys know that every start will have to be earned.

Saturday's game is proof of that.


In a Nutshell

– Victory for the Guardians.

– Yes.

– Really?

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