New contract: “Monty” knows Kent Hughes has a busy summer, but…

When it comes to contract signings in Montreal, Cole Caufield comes to mind. That’s normal, for the simple reason that the small forward must initial a new agreement with the Habs before the start of next season.

But we sometimes forget about Samuel Montembeault. The goaltender will be entering the final year of his contract at the start of the 23-24 campaign, and this summer there’s a good chance he’ll sign a contract extension.

This was one of the topics of discussion during his appearance on BPM Sports earlier today. The Quebecer is aware that Kent Hughes will have a busy summer in terms of his contract, but he remains hopeful that a decision could still be made in the coming months.

If it can be done at training camp like Jake (Allen) did last year, or at the beginning of the season like Jordan Harris did, I’d be really happy. – Samuel Montembeault

Monty proved he deserved the chance to get a new contract… And a new salary. He’s had a great season, both in Montreal and at the World Championships, and right now his value is on the rise.

Samuel has performed so well recently that Alexandre Pratt of La Presse wonders if he could become an interesting candidate for Canada at the next Olympic Games, to be held in Milan in 2026.

Yes, he’s been that good.

Now we have to ask what he’s worth in terms of salary.

Contractually speaking, it would be surprising to see Kent Hughes offer him a long-term contract (four years or more) because, in reality, even if he has shown more than interesting signs of progress since arriving in Montreal, he still has things to prove.

Steve Turcotte (Nouvelliste), in a recent article, talks about three years and $3.5 million per season… And I think that’s pretty reasonable. It’s not necessarily a huge hit on the Habs’ payroll, and the goalie would get a nice pay raise in the process.

If Montembeault has a good training camp next fall, chances are he’ll start the year as the team’s number-one goalie.

After all, we saw what he was capable of in the 2022-2023 season, playing a total of 40 games with the CH, and if the organization sees him as the goalie of the future in Montreal, they might as well give him the job right from the start of next season.

It’s worth remembering that Montembeault has the support of Jake Allen. The latter has said it openly on several occasions this season: he’s happy to see his teammate blossom and will do everything in his power to help him succeed.

He’s a real jack of all trades, Allen. No, the pun wasn’t intended before I wrote my sentence!

All this leaves room for excitement, both for the fans and for Samuel Montembeault. And, like everyone else (especially him), I can’t wait to see what the future holds for him… And I can’t wait to see what his next contract looks like.

In brief

– Really funny!

The control room’s reactions to their own look-a-like cam 🤣

(via @TBLightning) pic.twitter.com/JOPCPOSnY9

– SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 30, 2023

– Well deserved.

Mark Hunter has been named the @OHLHockey GM Of The Year 🤝

DETAILS: https://t.co/uOvjSDmGUC pic.twitter.com/RkxbabB9qC

– London Knights (@LondonKnights) May 30, 2023

– Indeed.

– Good.

– Nice portrait of a little-known hopeful.