Charlie Lindgren can be the next Peter Budaj for the Montreal Canadiens

Management obviously has the belief that Lindgren can given the three-year contract extension they handed him in February of 2018. A 750,000 cap-hit is backup money, and as I mentioned after the deal was announced, it could end up becoming a steal of a contract given the possible circumstances that can arise.

Now we move back to Price. The Montreal Canadiens rise and fall by his stead. When Claude Julien lost faith in Niemi, it was a Price marathon for the final push to the playoffs, and rightly so. However, there’s a difference between just getting into the playoffs and doing something once you’re in.

The Habs may benefit from reducing Price’s start totals, but that’ll take some trust in Lindgren. Price played the second-most games in the NHL this past season at 66 behind Devan Dubnyk‘s 67. He wasn’t the only one to play so much as Sergei Bobrovsky, Martin Jones, and Frederik Andersen all hit at least 60.

That may not be as ideal, and if Lindgren can take perhaps 20-25 games from Price’s load, it’ll ensure he’s more rested ahead of a hopeful playoff run. We can’t forget about the fatigue Price was dealing with a couple of seasons ago, and even though running with the hot goaltender who happens to make $10.5 million seems to be the likely scenario, Julien has to be mindful of his guy.

Don’t take the final game of the 2018-19 season as an indicator of what Lindgren is and what he can be. Lindgren is a solid goaltender and having Price as a mentor will do nothing but good for him in refining his game. The first test for him next season will be how he fairs in his first start and if he can continue his performance from the 2017-18 season, the Montreal Canadiens could wind up with having one of the most steady goaltending tandems in the NHL.