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Samuel Montembeault is asking for $4 million a year

The Canadien’s three-man household in front of the net isn’t exactly optimal. After all, even if the goalies are responding well on the ice, the fact remains that the guys aren’t playing enough for their liking.

After all, when you split the job three ways instead of two, there’s bound to be two goalies who think they’re not playing enough… and one goalie who thinks he’s really not playing enough. I’ll let you guess who’s who in Montreal.

At least Cayden Primeau is making progress as an NHL player in training. That’s a small victory for those looking for a little positivity on this fine Friday morning.

But hey. We know that, eventually, the Habs will have to put an end to the three-way. It can’t last a whole season, and the club needs depth beyond the net.

We also know that the issue is linked to the contract extension that Samuel Montembeault is likely to receive. The goalie’s clan and the Habs are negotiating to sign Montembeault, who will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

On this subject, Elliotte Friedman (32 Thoughts) doesn’t think the Habs will wait until the deadline to settle the Quebec goaltender’s file.

If that’s the case, does that mean the goalkeeper could be on the verge of signing a contract? Not necessarily, no: after all, it’s too early to draw such conclusions.

And why is that? Because we need to give the negotiation game time to work its magic.

We know that Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton, two men accustomed to negotiating contracts, won’t necessarily want to give in to the goalie’s initial demands – as in all negotiations in the history of (good) negotiations.

But according to Réjean Tremblay’s column on BPM Sports, the Montembeault clan is demanding a contract worth four million dollars a year.

Interestingly, the NHL’s trusted goalies make at least $3 million, as the columnist said. At $4 million, Montembeault would be well paid.

If that’s what he ends up getting, of course.

Note also that Jake Allen signed a contract for $3.85 million per season. Does charging more than his Maritime colleague make the Quebecer see himself as #1 in the pecking order? We think so.

Does the Habs see Montembeault the way the goalie sees himself? That’s the question, of course.

Montembeault is loved by the Quebec public, but he never gets a big vote of confidence from Martin St-Louis, for example. He’s also sometimes overlooked in the RDS All-Star Game, which prompted Réjean Tremblay to issue a tip of the hat to his colleagues at Réseau des Sports this morning.

We look forward to the end of the ménage à trois… no matter who leaves.


In gusto

– Est-ce que ce sera disponible en franç- ah pis laissez faire.

– Well done.

– Jacques Lemaire was quite a coach.

– Seen the same.

– A name to watch.

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