Cayden Primeau received non-stop text messages from friends after joining Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs made a somewhat surprising move on Monday, claiming forward Sammy Blais and goaltender Cayden Primeau off waivers from the Montreal Canadiens.

It was a huge day for Primeau in particular, who has a lot of family and friends in the city he has frequently spent time in throughout his life. Primeau is the son of former NHLer Keith Primeau, who is originally from Toronto.

“I’m real pumped,” the younger Primeau said after Tuesday’s practice. “My phone didn’t stop blowing up since everyone found out yesterday, it was non-stop.”

One year ago, Primeau was playing backup to Samuel Montembeault in the Canadiens season opener against the Leafs. This year, it looks like he’ll be suiting up on the opposite side of the ice.With Joseph Woll out for the time being and James Reimer released from his PTO, Primeau is set to start the year as backup to Anthony Stolarz, with a chance to earn NHL starts once again.

“It’s a great organization and a great opportunity,” he said.

Primeau started last season with the Canadiens in the NHL, but ended up down in the minors with the Laval Rocket, where he was absolutely stellar through the latter half of the regular season. While his postseason performance left something to be desired, he shared he’s feeling good after a summer of training.

“I had a great offseason,” Primeau said. “I feel stronger, that’s definitely going to translate on the ice. Just trying to build off of the last couple weeks and trying to get better.”

Primeau has been in Toronto for less than a day, but already met Stolarz, joking about their initial interaction.

“We were talking about (how we’re) two goalies from Jersey, but he’s from North Jersey, and that’s like a different state.”

With this big opportunity ahead of him, Primeau is focused on bringing the best version of himself nightly and not getting bogged down by specific goals.

“Anytime you’re in the NHL, or being able to play the sport you love, you’re super motivated,” he said. “I wouldn’t say there’s one set of goals or anything I put on myself for the time being. Just trying to get out there and play, get better, and give my team the best opportunity to win.”

Toronto will play their first back-to-back early next week, meaning we may soon get our first glimpse of Primeau on the ice for the Leafs. Then again, if Toronto has shown anything, it’s that their goaltending situation can always change on a dime.