Should The Habs Look For Another Goaltender?

Montembeault now has an .831 save percentage in his last 3 starts since the Habs returned Jacob Fowler to the Laval Rocket to continue developing his game at the AHL level. Meanwhile, Jakub Dobes has been a bit better with an .838 save percentage while still managing to win all 3 of his last starts. It’s clear most goaltenders are not playing to the level that is needed of them, but Dobes is getting much better goal support.

No matter what, the best thing for Fowler is to continue to develop with the Rocket, but the Habs definitely need help yet again in the goaltending department. It seems like Montembeault needs to be challenged by someone who can potentially push him out of Montreal.  Dobes can be a solid goaltender when playing consistently once a week, but he doesn’t seem to have the type of game that can be a starting netminder or someone who can sit out games for long periods of time. Dobes won’t be the answer to make Montembeault lose his job with the Habs. This is why the Canadiens should consider bringing someone else who could threaten Montembeault’s job for a little while.

The Habs could actually give Kaapo Kahkonen a look before looking elsewhere throughout the league to find a guy that can push Montembeault to be better again. Kahkonen hasn’t had a terrible season with the Rocket, but he could certainly be better. Nonetheless, his .905 save percentage and 2.67 GAA are still worth getting a look at at the NHL level with the team’s inconsistencies. Throughout his career, he has had a few flashes where he looked like a solid backup at the NHL level, and if the Canadiens really do need to go back to a 3-goalie system again, he would certainly be a better fit for that type of setup than Fowler, who needs reps to develop into the best goaltender that he can be someday.

Although a 3-goalie system is not ideal for a long-term plan, the Canadiens may not have a choice with the inconsistencies that have been seen with the Habs goaltenders this season. The Habs certainly can’t keep running Montembeault 2 out of every 3 games when he’s playing well below .900 save percentage hockey in those situations. If Kahkonen doesn’t work, Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton can work the phones to see if there is a goalie on the market that could potentially help the Canadiens for the rest of the season.

At the same time, maybe the Habs should just run a reward system that if you win a game, you get the next matchup regardless of how you got the win. Not only could this help Dobes to get his fair share of starts, but it can also allow Montembeault the ability to bounce back without the risk of playing consistent games as he struggles.

Therefore, for now, looking for another goalie shouldn’t be in the plans, but the Canadiens will need to watch the last 5 games before the Olympic break closely to decide how to proceed with this goaltending situation. Nonetheless, the 3-goalie situation with Kahkonen should at the very least be considered at some point during this period as something that can hopefully push Montembeault again.

What do you think the Habs should do to fix their goaltending problems?