The Montreal Canadiens are one injury away from disaster. Sam Montembeault started 60 games last year, while Jakub Dobes started 15 games. The Canadiens added to their goaltending depth over the summer by bringing Kaapo Kahkonen into the fold on a one-year $1.15-million contract.
Heavy.com has proposed the Canadiens sign former Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov to a one-year contract. This move would provide more certainty in net and allow Montembeault to play his best by limiting him to less than 60 starts in 2025-26.
Canadiens Sign:
- Ilya Samsonov: One-year, $1.5 million
With Samsonov, the Canadiens would add a goaltender who has played backup as well as in a 1A/1B scenario. While adding a second-line center would be advantageous, solidifying the goalie position should take priority.
The former Maple Leaf has a better track record in that position than either Dobes or Kahkonen.
Samsonov is a 28-year-old, 6-foot-3, 208 lb goaltender from Russia. He was initially drafted by the Washington Capitals 22nd overall in 2015. Last season, he recorded 16 wins in 29 games, while recording a 2.82 goals against average (GAA), a .891 save percentage (SV%), and two shutouts.
Ilya Samsonov Can Be the Canadiens 1B Goalie
Samsonov has played 200 games over his six-year NHL career. That averages out to about 33 games per season. Adding a goaltender who can start 30+ games would be huge for the Canadiens.
The 28-year-old has a career 2.77 GAA and .902 SV%. Kahkonen has played six years as well, with 140 games under his belt, averaging about 23 games per season. Over Kahkonen’s career he boasts a 3.34 GAA to go along with an .898 SV%.
By having better results in more games played, Samsonov proves he is a better option to backup Montembeault than Kahkonen is.
NHL analyst Matt Larkin of Daily Faceoff has Samsonov as the second-best goaltender available on the free agent market. AFP Analytics projects his next contract to be a one-year $2-million deal. Considering that it is now August, it’s not unreasonable to suggest that he may be willing to take less than that for the chance to continue his NHL playing career.
The Canadiens’ Plan for Sam Montembeault
Canadiens’ Executive Vice President Jeff Gorton has spoken about the team’s goaltending situation. In an exclusive with RG, he highlighted the importance of depth and riding the hot hand.
“When you go into a season, you talk about how many starts it could look like,” Gorton said. “But the play will always dictate that. You kind of have to roll with who’s the hot hand and that’s kind of how (Montembeault) ended up playing so many games, but the goal is to never play someone anymore into the sixties.”
“I have to say with Sam, he really acquitted himself very well, he was consistent pretty much from Game 1 to Game 82 and beyond.”
Gorton thinks Dobes can rise to the occasion and deliver quality games for the Canadiens this season. The organization isn’t afraid to take a chance on young players.
“He got us a lot of big points down the stretch,” Gorton revealed about Dobes. “He came in relief in the playoffs and got us a win, and he played pretty well in the playoffs under difficult circumstances. We’re in the position where our team’s at that if somebody comes in and wins a job, then I think we’ll always look at that and try and promote from within.”
“(We’ll) let some of these young guys play when they’re ready.”
There is plenty of time before the start of training camp for the Canadiens to roll with these goalies, or give someone else a PTO to prove that they are up to the task. The team could also make a move (or two) to solidify their defensive group before the start of the regular season.
While Samsonov might be an upgrade on either of these goaltenders, the organization’s confidence in what they have is high.
Canadiens Must Now Pursue the Best Free Agent Goalie