Listening to Kent Hughes, Kaapo Kahkonen is ahead of Jakub Dobes

In fact, what Hughes said was that you don’t sign a goalie with the intention of sending him to the waivers. And that’s when you have to remember that Kahkonen has to go through the waivers… but Dobes doesn’t.

Are we to understand that the veteran is ahead of Dobes at this stage in the race for the #2 goaltender position? Possibly, yes.

Hughes has said that it’s important to bring competition to the net, but it’s safe to assume that Dobes will have to go out and win it. Kahkonen is coming off a big series in the AHL and has NHL experience.

At the same time, sending Dobes back to Laval after he’s done the job in the NHL playoffs following Montembeault’s injury could send out a strange message… but if the club feels it’s the best avenue for his development, why not?

We know that in the AHL, teams often play games together, so it would be easier to share the task in front of the net between Dobes and Jacob Fowler. In this scenario, however, Fowler would be #2 in Laval.

For the development of a goalkeeper, a #2 position in the AHL is not as bad as a #2 position in the NHL, we agree. But then again, if the club really sees Fowler as its goalie of the future, that’s not necessarily ideal either.

We’ll have to see how it all works out, but don’t be too quick to assume that Kahkonen is simply with the Habs to back up Jacob Fowler in Laval. Because right now, if the GM is anything to go by… he may be there to back up Samuel Montembeault.

Extension

When you look at the situation in front of the net across the organization, it’s easy to see why the Habs were quick to part with Cayden Primeau yesterday. Adding Primeau to the mix would have created headaches somewhere in the organization.

We should also spare a thought for Luke Cavallin, who broke everything in front of the Trois-Rivières Lions net this spring and could have been a candidate for a position with the Rocket. The arrival of Kahkonen isn’t likely to help him in that regard, let’s just say.