Trade: Keep an eye on Samuel Montembeault

Today is August 24. The regular season will begin in 36 days.

Rookie camp starts in two weeks, and regular training camp in three weeks. In short, it's almost here.

However, the same questions are still on my mind this morning: When will Zachary Bolduc and Arber Xhekaj sign their contracts? Who will be the second-string center on September 29? And what's the plan with Samuel Montembeault?

Unlike many of my colleagues, I don't see Samuel Montembeault starting the season with the big club—neither as the backup to Jakub Dobes nor as the third goalie in a three-way rotation.

Why not send Jacob Fowler to Laval and keep Montembeault as the number two in Montreal? Because that would weaken the Canadiens. Fowler is a better goaltender than Montembeault; I can't see the Canadiens' front office deciding to make the team worse.

What matters is the Montreal Canadiens. Giving Fowler 30 games is better for the team than giving Montembeault 30 games.

If the priority were to properly develop Fowler or to ensure they had a good goalie in Laval, Kent Hughes would have called up Fowler last spring. That way, he would have helped the Rocket in the playoffs while providing a role that maximized the development of his American goalie.

But he didn't do that: he prioritized the first team, the one that plays at the Bell Centre. I don't see him changing his strategy this fall.

Montembeault in Laval?

Could Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton decide to send Samuel Montembeault to Laval? That might actually make more sense.

Montembeault would likely have to clear waivers, but I'm not convinced another team would claim him. He has a cap hit of $3.15 million… but he'll be a free agent in less than a year. Quite a headache for the Montreal front office!

A trade in the coming days?

If Montembeault is indeed no longer part of the plans—which I'm pretty convinced he isn't—the best course of action is still to trade him. We thought it would happen in June… but it still hasn't happened as of late August.

According to Michael DeRosa of The Hockey News, Montembeault is one of the three goalies most likely to be traded by September 29. We'll have to keep an eye on Montembeault.