The Montreal Canadiens have hit a recent snag after their hot start to the season. The Canadiens are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games. While they’ve rebounded recently, the Habs are nowhere near the level they showed in October and the first half of November.
One of the reasons fans and the media have pointed out is the goaltending situation. Starter Samuel Montembeault has not been anywhere near a respectable level. His five wins in 14 games to go with a 3.61 GAA and .861 SV% have pretty cost him the starting role in Montreal and a spot on Team Canada for the Olympics.
Meanwhile, Jakub Dobes, while better than Montembeault, hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire. Dobes has won nine games in 14 appearances to go with a 3.11 GAA and an .892 SV%. The numbers are better, but not enough to inspire confidence in the Canadiens’ management group.
That’s why the rumor mill has begun to grind. According to the Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta, the Canadiens are looking at the goaltending market. Pagnotta had this to say about the situation:
“We’ve started to hear that they’re at the very least just gauging the market to see what options may be available to them if they do decide to do something in net.”
Pagnotta’s comments on the December 3 edition of Inside Sports signal the Canadiens are in a bind. They entered the season looking to land a top-six forward. The chatter had been around Jordan Kyrou of the St. Louis Blues.
Then, injuries to Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook accelerated the search for a center. But the consistent play in the crease could make things even more challenging for GM Kent Hughes.
Canadiens Looking for Goalie in Slow Market
The Canadiens would be looking to land a goalie in what has been a slow market. Other clubs like the Edmonton Oilers have been reportedly looking for a goalie all season long. Yet, available goalies have been few a far between. Only a handful of netminders have changed teams. And that has happened via waivers.
The Habs won’t be content with a waiver goalie. They will be looking for at least a decent backup netminder. Even if a team were willing to part with such a netminder, the cost would be substantially high.
So, it won’t be easy for the Canadiens to upgrade via trade at this point in this season.
Habs May Have to Wait for Trade
It seems the entire NHL is in a holding pattern at the moment. As such, the Canadiens will have to exercise patience for the right trade to come along. The market could pick up until after the New Year. By then, there might be a little more separation between the contenders and the pretenders.
Of course, that’s only an assumption. The playoff race around the league is still relatively tight. Only a handful of teams are essentially out of it. Other clubs, like the Pittsburgh Penguins, that have goalies to trade, may not be willing to part with them yet.
Ultimately, it seems that Montreal fans will have to wait for a deal to finally come along. Although the price will be high.
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