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Montreal Canadiens: It may be the end for Zachary Fucale

By Omar L

LAVAL, QC - APRIL 06: Look on Laval Rocket goalie Zach Fucale (30) at warm-up before the Springfield Thunderbirds versus the Laval Rocket game on April 6, 2018, at Place Bell in Laval, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LAVAL, QC - APRIL 06: Look on Laval Rocket goalie Zach Fucale (30) at warm-up before the Springfield Thunderbirds versus the Laval Rocket game on April 6, 2018, at Place Bell in Laval, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Zachary Fucale is one of the restricted free agents the Montreal Canadiens need to qualify, but it looks like the organization is moving on from him.

Regardless of the state of the season, the Montreal Canadiens look set up for success in net. Carey Price is one of the leagues best goaltenders who will bounce-back from a difficult year. Charlie Lindgren has blown fans away with his play ever since receiving a contract out of St. Cloud State. His performances this year when playing in favour of an injured Price really raised the optimistic bar as to what he can become in the future.

Michael McNiven went from starting in the ECHL with the Brampton Beast to getting regular starts with the Laval Rocket. He was another free agent goaltender that Marc Bergevin found. The 20-year-old didn’t have the best numbers in the AHL this season, 6-16-1 record and .884 save percentage, but Laval’s defence didn’t help him.

Even Lindgren had some poor numbers, and fans all saw what he could do in the NHL. Zachary Fucale is the last part of the Habs’ goaltending chain of command. The 2013 second-round pick bounced between the AHL and ECHL for portions of the year. However, he was the only Laval goaltender to have a winning record (10-7-0).

When Lindgren received his three-year extension with the Montreal Canadiens, it was assumed that he would be the sole backup leaving Fucale and Lindgren to handle the AHL. New developments have clouded that initial thought up a little bit.

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A Crowded Habs Net

The Habs chose to re-sign Antti Niemi to a one-year contract as well as bring in Ètienne Marcoux on an AHL deal. Now there will be some serious competition at training camp to backup Price next season. Niemi had a memorable comeback story with Montreal after two rocky stints with Pittsburgh and Florida.

He worked with goaltending coach Stèphane Waite re-establishing some structure to his game. Niemi finished the season with a 7-5-4 record, and .929 save percentage (highest of any Habs goaltender). However, his contract could easily be buried in the minors of Lindgren beats him out.

Marcoux right now looks to be a move to bolster the organization’s ECHL club. His contract is a two-way deal and would see him make more money playing with Laval.

All signs are starting to point at Fucale’s final minutes in the Montreal Canadiens system. He is one of the team’s 11 restricted free agents who need to be qualified by June 25th. It doesn’t seem likely that he’ll be one of the players to receive one at this point.

Fucale proved that he is too good for the ECHL, but there’s no benefit of having him a third or 2B goalie in Laval. There is a chance he outperforms McNiven next year, but that may not be a risk the Montreal Canadiens want to make. Trading him is out of the question as well seeing as his asset value has continuously taken hits.

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Sometimes all a player needs is a new start to spark their career up a bit. Fucale may be one of those situations. Management has a little less than a month to weigh the situation but odds are the Quebec native walks.

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