Montreal Canadiens Scapegoat Search for 2025-26 Season

However, for some, Laine just doesn’t try hard enough or doesn’t have the defensive wherewithal to contribute on a regular basis. While there may be something to his lack of defensive ability, general manager Kent Hughes knew the player he was acquiring at the time. Laine has more than delivered, arguably well worth the price of admission, in the form of a forward-group-high $8.7 million cap hit.

Some may interpret Laine’s hit as the reason the Canadiens didn’t make any moves at all at the trade deadline, when clearly they need help. They would be wrong, though.

4. Kent Hughes

Of course, don’t let the fact Hughes has gone on record as saying Laine’s contract didn’t get in the way of a trade at the deadline get in the way of a lazy narrative. The truth is, Laine’s contract expires this coming offseason, which always made it a fairly low-risk investment on the part of the Canadiens. Hughes’ supposed inability to acquire reinforcements at the deadline, when the teams against which they’re competing for a playoff spot did, is on him.

However, while the Canadiens are poised to improve in the standings this season, it’s hard to see them as legitimate contenders, because of their volatile brand of hockey. Sure, they may lead the league in comeback wins this season, but they’re also in a tie for the most blown leads, with the loss to the Red Wings obviously adding to their issues there.

Devoting assets to shoring up this specific team’s chances at a Stanley Cup seems like a waste when prices at the deadline were exorbitantly high. When the team’s goaltending just isn’t cutting it. And, with top-prospect Jacob Fowler waiting in the wings to leave his mark in net and on the organization, upgrading there would have been incredibly risky.

Hughes more so deserves props for making the smart move, by not making any move at all.

3. Jakub Dobes

Similar to with Matheson, Dobes was front and centre following the Wings loss. After all, he’s the Canadiens’ last line of defense, and he let in two goals at critical points of the game. However, objectively speaking, he’s not at fault here. While he’s had bad games here and there, pointing a finger at a goalie who earned a .926 save percentage (SV%) in the game in question would certainly be a choice, especially seeing as the first goal got deflected in right at the crease and the last one he “allowed” was to a top goal-scorer, who was let in all alone.

It would again be lazy to point to his overall .893 SV%, which is admittedly lower than the .896 league average and suggest he hasn’t been doing his job. As a rookie, who’s 22-8-4 this season and technically holds more wins as a first-year player than Carey Price, he’s doing his job, which is to win games, perfectly fine on the whole.

Will there be games where Dobes looks his modest experience level? Of course. The same is true of Fowler, though. However, throwing either rookie under the bus doesn’t do anyone any good, seeing as each of these goalies could represent the team’s future in net. With that, it’s sometimes easy to forget Dobes is getting it done in the present, because he’s not doing it at an elite level. He’s still accomplishing a great deal. Honestly, if there’s one reason to be mad with regard to Dobes’ play, it’s that he hasn’t played enough, and that’s hardly on him.

2. Martin St. Louis

If there is someone to blame for the team maybe missing the playoffs (while playing .618 hockey), head coach Martin St. Louis could be them. To be clear, this is largely satire and this entry is far from intended as an indictment of St. Louis’ contributions to the franchise since he replaced Dominique Ducharme behind the bench and helped lead a rebuilding team from out of last place in the entire league to an eventual playoff spot in 2025.

However, there is no denying St. Louis’ at-times questionable deployment decisions. Now, this team is far from perfectly constructed. It’s something of a work in progress still. They still lack a legitimate No. 2 centre and there are too many left-handed defensemen (and not enough righties). However, insisting on playing your team’s most dynamic blue liner and maybe player in Lane Hutson on his off side to compensate is kind of dumbfounding.

In St. Louis’ defense, again this team has still performed admirably, and, as things stand currently, they are in a playoff spot right now. That shouldn’t be forgotten. Were the team’s goaltending even average, they’d be far less at risk of falling out of a spot and would maybe even be the conversation for the best team in the Eastern Conference. However, St. Louis has consistently shot himself in the foot going back to last year’s No. 1, Sam Montembeault.

Say what you want about the merits of loyalty, however admirable the trait is. It doesn’t take away from how Montembeault is 10-8-4, with a 3.23 goals-against average and .872 SV%. Forget mediocre. Those are bad numbers. And, if you take away an impressive performance against the non-playoff Winnipeg Jets right before the Olympic break, he’s lost his last four games, each in less-than-ideal fashion.

With exception to the first in that stretch, a 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Jan. 22, in which Montembeault allowed the game’s first three goals, the Canadiens held a late lead in each of those games, only to eventually lose. Say what you want about Dobes against the Wings instead or his inconsistency in giving up six goals to the San Jose Sharks early this month. Montembeault has been consistently unreliable. There should be no sugarcoating it.

The question becomes, is it the fault of Montembeault, who’s objectively only had one statistically impressive season out of five with the Canadiens, or is it the fault of St. Louis for seemingly failing to move on on an emotional level from that one season?

Does it matter? It’s clear where the fault will lie, justifiably or not.

1. Sam Montembeault

If there’s someone who will be blamed, it looks like it’s already going to be Montembeault. After all, the Canadiens have already called up Fowler and are playing him as part of their one-two goaltending tandem with Dobes and some within the media are already suggesting he’s played his last game for the Habs, a 6-5 shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks on March 6, in which he spotted them an early lead, allowed the Ducks to get back in it after the Habs had taken the lead themselves and gave up the game-tying goal with less than a minute left. And, oh, yeah, he gave up five goals, several of which were of the shady variety.

It doesn’t matter if it’s fair or not. Montembeault was going to be the odd man out in the crease eventually anyway, with a contract that makes him an unrestricted free agent in 2027. Both Dobes and Fowler will remain under team control for considerably longer.

Montembeault’s effort level has always been consistently high. And he admirably climbed up the depth chart to become the guy from a third-string waiver-wire pickup in 2021, who for all intents and purposes represented little more than a body to play the role of cannon fodder early in those rebuilding years. He’s paid his dues. For that he deserves a lot of respect, but little more in an industry where it’s all about what you have done lately.

Even when Montembeault was playing relatively well, he earned the ire of fans, who had their eyes on a 2023 draft pick other than David Reinbacher, which is bonkers. Forget the extra points the Canadiens earned in the standings because of Montembeault’s strong play. The Habs as an organization made a decision to choose the as-of-yet-still-unproven Reinbacher at No. 5, because of the aforementioned lack of right-handed defensemen in the system when plenty of other offensively talented players remained on the board. That speaks more to flawed decision-making and roster construction at the top of organization.

Now’s it the opposite situation, where Montembeault has left a significant amount of points on the table. Those points could admittedly mean the difference between favourable playoff positioning and, as crazy as it would have sounded even a week ago, missing the postseason altogether.

What bears repeating is the following: The Canadiens are currently in a playoff spot. How they play from this point forward will dictate if they make it or not. If Montembeault is indeed out of the picture, he can’t really be blamed for what transpires between now and the end of the season. That won’t stop a lot of angry people from trying, though.