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Evaluating The In-House Solutions To The Montreal Canadiens’ Backup Goalie Problem

By Teddy Elliot

MONTREAL, QC - APRIL 06: Goaltender Charlie Lindgren #39 of the Montreal Canadiens stretches out to protect the net against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the NHL game at the Bell Centre on April 6, 2019 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-5 in a shootout. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - APRIL 06: Goaltender Charlie Lindgren #39 of the Montreal Canadiens stretches out to protect the net against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the NHL game at the Bell Centre on April 6, 2019 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-5 in a shootout. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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MONTREAL, QC – DECEMBER 11: Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

The Montreal Canadiens must evaluate if they have an in-house solution to their backup goalie problem before they decide to look for one in free agency.

As the dust settles on the Montreal Canadiens season, getting Carey Price a reliable backup goalie is one major issue Marc Bergevin and company must focus on solving as soon as possible.

Despite Price’s heroic playoff performance, relying on him to play 60 to 65 games a season is not only unrealistic but dangerous to his long-term ability to be the all-world goalie the team expects him to be.

The Canadiens absolutely need a backup goalie to not only be a reliable partner to Price but also have the capability to win the majority of the games he starts.

Price arguably hasn’t had a reliable backup goalie since the days of Jaroslav Halak all the way back in the 2009-2010 season, and even then, Halak was the team’s 1B goalie option and took the starter’s job away from Price as the season progressed.

Mike Condon looked promising for a while until a disastrous month derailed his career in Montreal. In the 2016-2017 season, Al Montoya seemed to be the perfect fit as Price’s backup until one bad game too many had him shipped off to the Edmonton Oilers for a conditional 4th-round pick.

Most recently, Antti Niemi looked sharp in his first season as Price’s backup but quickly fell out of favour after posting a terrible 8-6-2 record with a 3.78 GAA in his last season as a Hab.

Since then, Price has all but stood alone in the crease, playing in 124 games since the 2018-2019 season.

That’s a huge workload for any goalie. For instance, Braden Holtby has played 107 games since the 2018-2019 season; Andrei Vasilevskiy, only 105 games during the same time frame.

So what can the Canadiens do? Looking at the team’s depth chart, there are three realistic in-house possibilities: Charlie Lindgren, Cayden Primeau, and the mysterious, yet intriguing, Vasili Demchenko.

Let’s see if one of these potential backup goalies can solidify the position, shall we?

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