Canadiens’ Sam Montembeault Out Two Weeks With Injury

Earlier today, head coach Martin St. Louis (via Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports) announced that netminder Sam Montembeault would miss the next 10 to 14 days with a lower-body injury. Montembeault suffered the lower-body ailment at Montreal’s practice on Wednesday.

Although it would otherwise be unnoteworthy news for a backup goalie to get injured at practice, missing the next two weeks could have massive ramifications for Montembeault’s future, particularly with the Canadiens.

A year after finishing eighth in Vezina Trophy voting and backstopping Montreal to the postseason, Montembeault lost his starting role last season. He finished the 2025-26 season with a 10-8-4 record in 23 games with an .872 SV% and 3.43 GAA. A year earlier, Montembeault managed a 31-24-7 record in 62 games with a .902 SV% and 2.82 GAA.

Despite being included on the team’s opening-night roster this year, the net belongs to Jakub Dobes in Montreal. Montembeault is in the final season of a three-year, $9.45MM ($3.15MM AAV) contract with the Canadiens, and the team quickly signed Dobes to his own three-year extension this past summer.

Still, Dobes isn’t Montembeault’s biggest obstacle in continuing to play with Montreal. In Montembeault’s absence, the Canadiens recalled Jacob Fowler, arguably the league’s top goaltending prospect. Fowler didn’t look great in Montreal’s loss to the Nashville Predators yesterday evening, but there’s every reason to believe he’ll be a great netminder in the years to come.

Aside from the bad start last night, Fowler has been impressive with the AHL’s Laval Rocket, posting a .945 SV% and 1.53 GAA in his first two starts this year. Last season, his first full season in the professional ranks, Fowler finished 19-7-2 with a .916 SV% and 2.23 GAA in 27 games with AHL Laval.

If Fowler puts together a few solid starts with Montembeault on the shelf, there’s a legitimate chance the latter finds himself on waivers in the near future. Montreal could save $1.225MM in cap space by reassigning Montembeault, which could come in handy closer to the trade deadline.