Canadiens Expected to Trade Montembeault After Dobes Emergence

Heading into the 2025–26 season, the expectation around the Montreal Canadiens was simple: take another step toward contention and push for a playoff berth. Instead, the team went far beyond that script, reaching the Eastern Conference Final before falling to the Carolina Hurricanes. But while the playoff run elevated the franchise’s long-term outlook, it also clarified one of the most important questions on the roster—what happens in goal?

Montembeault was the Habs’ starting goaltender when the season began.

At the start of the year, Sam Montembeault was firmly positioned as the Canadiens’ No. 1 goaltender. The plan was stability, experience, and incremental growth in net. But the season quickly went in a different direction. Through his first 13 starts, Montembeault managed just five wins and posted a .861 save percentage by the end of November. For a team trying to climb into a playoff position, that level of inconsistency became difficult to carry.

That’s when Jacob Dobes entered the picture in a meaningful way. Initially brought in to steady the situation, Dobes didn’t just stabilize the crease—he took it over. His late-season performance stretched from solid to dominant, giving Montreal a level of goaltending confidence they hadn’t consistently had all year.

The rise of Jacob Fowler has complicated Montembeault’s future even further.

Even more complicated for Montembeault’s future was the emergence of prospect Jacob Fowler, whose play added another layer of internal competition. By the time the calendar flipped to late January, Montembeault’s role had essentially disappeared. From that point through the end of the playoff run, he appeared in just three games while Dobes carried the load.

Dobes’ performance didn’t just secure starts; it changed the organization’s trajectory in real time. He was a key reason the Canadiens were still playing deep into the spring, delivering multiple game-saving performances during the playoff run.

Given that reality, the organizational picture in the net has shifted dramatically. According to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, speaking on Bob Stauffer’s Oilers Now, Montreal does not view Montembeault as part of its future in goal and will likely need to move him.

There should be many suitors for Montembeault.

With one year remaining on his deal at a $3.15 million cap hit, Montembeault should still attract interest, with multiple teams likely to view him as a buy-low option. Teams in need of a reliable tandem option or experienced backup could view him as a buy-low opportunity, especially given his stronger underlying numbers over the past three seasons compared to his difficult start this year.

In a goaltending room now shaped by Dobes’ rise and Fowler’s presence in the pipeline, Montembeault simply appears to be the odd man out.