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The Keith Kinkaid Experiment is Hurting Michael McNiven

By Patrick Tallon

MONTREAL, QC - NOVEMBER 16: Montreal Canadiens goalie Keith Kinkaid (37) looks up at the scoreboard without his mask on during the New Jersey Devils versus the Montreal Canadiens game on November 16, 2019, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - NOVEMBER 16: Montreal Canadiens goalie Keith Kinkaid (37) looks up at the scoreboard without his mask on during the New Jersey Devils versus the Montreal Canadiens game on November 16, 2019, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Montreal Canadiens signing of Keith Kinkaid was a promising move. With him in Laval, it means McNiven isn’t getting consistent starts, ultimately hurting his development.

The Canadiens have not had a serviceable backup for Carey Price for quite some time. The offseason saw the arrival of Nick Cousins, Ben Chiarot and Keith Kinkaid. Through all of this, it was the signing of Keith Kinkaid that was immediately deemed a success for the Marc Bergevin and the Canadiens, however it couldn’t have backfired more.

The 30 year old net minder was inked to a one year, one way contract worth 1.75 million. Coming into the season, Kinkaid was sporting a .891 save percentage and a 3.36 goals against average. The consensus was that these numbers would change as Kinkaid would be playing in front of an improved defence, and what to some thought was a better team.

Aside from one or two miraculous saves or unique tweets, it would be safe to say that the Kinkaid experiment is failing or has already failed. Through six games with the Canadiens to start the season, Kinkaid has allowed 24 goals and is posting 3.08 goals against average, and a save percentage of 0.882.

This signing, aside from taking up a little bit of cap and hurting Laval, is also hurting the development of Michael McNiven. With Cayden Primeau continuing his dominant performance with the with Laval Rocket, McNiven hasn’t actually had a consistent team to play with.

The unfortunate reality of Montreal not having an ECHL affiliate means that McNiven can be loaned to different teams in the ECHL. The Winnipeg native has not played a single game for the Laval Rocket all season. The 22 year old has played four games for the Adirondack Thunder, 10 games with the Jacksonville Icemen, and five with the Norfolk Admirals.

In 2015, Michael McNiven signed a free agent contract with the Canadiens. His 2016-2017 campaign in the OHL was nothing short of impressive. McNiven not only had the most wins (41) in that year, he also managed a GAA of 2.30, a .915 SV%, and six shutouts. It was this dominant performance that awarded him with OHL and CHL goaltender of the year. It gave management a sense of excitement for what is to come.

The Canadiens are fortunate to have the goaltending depth they have, as it is among the league’s best. However with Charlie Lindgren backing up Carey Price, and Cayden Primeau playing lights out in Laval, it is a massive disservice to McNiven to have a 30 year old underperforming veteran in Kinkaid to play in Laval over a young goaltender with at least some potential.

There is so much talk and debate about holes that need to be filled on the Canadiens roster, such as elite scoring, a top end center, or a puck moving left handed defencemen. There’s little to no chatter about the fact that Bergevin has failed to address the backup position.

Contract Termination?

While it might be difficult for Bergevin to admit failure, it is worth looking at the longterm development of his younger players when examining the goaltending situation in Laval and in Montreal. Since the buyout period is not until June 15th to June 30th, Montreal cannot buy out the contract. The only possible scenario for Bergevin to rid himself of this would be for Kinkaid and the organization to agree to mutual termination.

When an organization and a player deem the arrangement no longer appealing, the player and team part ways, resulting in the cap hit being eliminated entirely. This would give Kinkaid the opportunity to potentially test the market, but unfortunately for Bergevin, Kinkaid might be wary of walking away from his 1.75 million dollars.

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