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Montreal Canadiens Cut Ties With Promising 6'7" Goalie

Originally posted on House of Hockey | By Tom Banks | Last updated Jun 2, 2025 9:14 AM ET

The Montreal Canadiens have some incredibly talented goaltenders in the organization, and on Sunday, they cut ties with a promising prospect after showing some talent at the ECHL level.

This past season, the Montreal Canadiens debuted young goaltender Jakub Dobes, who appears to be a key piece of their future, and now, they've made a surprise with another young goaltender.

On June 1st, their rights to Joe Vrbetic, a seventh-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, and as the deadline came and went, it became official that the team will not be signing him to an Entry Level Deal.

The 22-year old now officially becomes a free agent, and standing at 6-foot-7, it's safe to say that there could be significant interest, despite the fact that he is yet to progress past the ECHL level.

In 2024/25, the talented young star posted a sub 3.00 GAA and a sub .900 save percentage for Trois-Rivieres and the Indy Fuel, showing that with some patient development, at the very least he could be a solid AHL level goaltender, if not a backup at the highest level.

It's unclear exactly why Montreal decided to move on, as goaltending depth is something that all teams around the NHL would want to have through their prospect pool, but it appears as though he simply didn't show them enough in his development.

Ultimately, there's going to be some level of interest in Vrbetic as a free agent ahead of the off-season, and while it's more likely than not that he ends up as a career ECHL/AHL level goaltender, if he finds himself in the right situation, it's safe to say that there's some great potential there.

This article first appeared on House of Hockey and was syndicated with permission.

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