The Montreal Canadiens and Samuel Montembeault have been on a little bit of a roller coaster ride.
At this point, it wouldn’t shock anyone if the goalie was traded. In fact, it might even make sense.
And it seems like every week or two, there’s a new rumor. Montembeault’s name keeps popping up when analysts consider goalies that could help contending teams — in the non-Connor Hellebuyck division, that is.
That happened again over the weekend, too.
Samuel Montembeault Trade Rumors
The Athletic put out an article recently that named a trade candidate from each team in the NHL, with the idea being that the player named should be “under the radar.”
Montembeault was the selection for the Habs.
“Montembeault is in the final year of his contract, and with Jakub Dobeš and Jacob Fowler ready to take over, the Canadiens could collect a trade asset from a goalie-needy team,” The Athletic’s Arpon Basu wrote.
This is far from the first time Montembeault has been suggested as a trade piece.
This is what Bleacher Report’s Lyle Richardson wrote earlier in October:
“Nevertheless, trade speculation still dogged Montembeault during training camp. During a Sept. 17 appearance on The Jason Gregor Show, NHL insider Frank Seravalli boldly predicted the Canadiens goalie would be the first player traded this season. Seravalli’s prediction didn’t pan out, but that doesn’t mean Montembeault won’t be moved this season. He’s slated to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, and a strong performance could improve his value as a rental player in the trade market.”
There’s always a need for goalies who have shown some promise. Elsewhere in the NHL this season, there’s been some rough netminding. Montembeault could certainly help out with another team.
Why Canadiens Trading Samuel Montembeault Makes Sense
Of course, the Habs wouldn’t trade Montembeault just to help another team. It’d have to make sense for their roster, too.
And at the moment, Jacob Fowler has arrived from the AHL and is playing well. That makes Montembeault expendable.
The struggles of Jakub Dobes do raise some concern, but Montreal has to operate with the assumption that he’ll trend back in the right direction as the season moves along.
There’s always risk in a trade, but giving up Montembeault for an asset that doesn’t play in goal could help the Canadiens in the long run. They’ve already got two goalies — Jakub and Jacob — and the one named Samuel just doesn’t quite fit.
Canadiens’ Samuel Montembeault Trade Rumor Makes Sense