“Joe Sakic once said he spent the first few years of his career proving he belonged in the NHL. And he spent the rest wanting to prove he could stay in the NHL.”
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Archive photo, AFP
Samuel Montembeault was still all smiles as he appeared in front of the media the day after signing his three-year contract which will earn him $3.15 million per campaign starting next fall.
Quoting the former captain of the Nordiques and the Avalanche is not trivial. After all, being placed on waivers is pretty much the lowest status an NHL player can achieve. When the Canadian claimed it, coming from Florida, on October 2, 2021, the Bécancourois had, precisely, everything to prove.
“I have progressed a lot. I have a good relationship with Eric [Raymond, l’entraîneur des gardiens de but]. We both work really well together. He helped me improve a lot.”
Progress and consistency
The progression is such that Montembeault, although he keeps the net behind a young and fragile team, leads the circuit in efficiency at 5 against 5 (.948). No one would have bet on it when the lanky athlete came to Montreal due to Carey Price’s health problems.
That season, he was the Habs’ busiest masked man with 38 appearances in front of the net. He finished the campaign with a resounding goals-against average of 3.77 and an efficiency rate of .891. In his defense, due to numerous injuries, he practically had an American League team in front of him.
“Since Sam has been here, we have seen the progression in his game. We also see a certain consistency. It’s now up to him to continue like this,” said Kent Hughes.
The man for the job?
The agreement signed Friday will be valid until the end of the 2026-2027 season. At this point, it can be assumed that the team’s rebuild will be coming to an end. Montembeault will then be 30 years old. Will he be the number one goalie when this team matures?
“If Sam is able to continue in the same vein, we would be crazy not to want to keep him. But that remains to be determined,” argued Hughes, noting in passing that the rate of progression of his other young players is also difficult to predict.
Montembeault is having a very good season. However, it remains to be seen how he will fare when the time comes to get the workload that falls to a number one. Closer starts, sequences of two matches in 24 hours, for example.
The threesome ends
We may get an answer to this question in the coming weeks. If the menage a trois in front of the Canadian’s goal finally ends.
“Did we start the season saying that we were going to have a three-goalie rotation throughout the season? No. But the risk of losing Sam at the end of the season gave us no choice since our goalies from the American League must play in the American League.
This question now settled, the rest should unfold quickly. Moreover, Hughes said the pressure was now on him to bring this situation to a conclusion.