The Montreal Canadiens didn’t exactly put Michael McNiven in a position to succeed last season. Will he have a better opportunity to succeed in the future?
The Montreal Canadiens didn’t have a terrific backup goaltender last season, but they had a long list of netminders in the pipeline. While Keith Kinkaid was supposed to play second fiddle to Carey Price, he struggled and was sent down to the AHL.
This led to Charlie Lindgren being recalled to the big club, but there wasn’t much confidence in his game.
It also didn’t alleviate a backlog at the minor league level. Shuffling Lindgren up and bringing Kinkaid down left the Habs with a veteran playing for the Laval Rocket, along with rookie pro goaltender Cayden Primeau. It also left a young goaltender with nowhere to play in the organization.
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Michael McNiven is 23 years old and has been playing in the Habs minor league system for the past three seasons. He signed with the Habs on the eve of the 2015-16 season, after going undrafted. He returned to the OHL and put together two more solid seasons with the Owen Sound Attack.
Well, maybe he was a little better than solid. His numbers weren’t Carey Price-like, but McNiven did win OHL and CHL goaltender of the year awards in 2016-17.
His entry-level contract just expired and it was a bit of an up and down time for the Winnipeg, Manitoba product. He struggled to a 3.50 GAA and a .884 SV% in his first season with the Laval Rocket but showed improvement in 2018-19. He dropped his GAA nearly a full goal per game to 2.52 and raised his save percentage to .902.
Then, Cayden Primeau left college early and suddenly there was a crowded crease in Laval. This left McNiven wandering North America like a nomad. He made his way down the east coast, stopping Adirondack, Norfolk and Jacksonville to play for different ECHL organizations.
The Canadiens have no ECHL affilliate, so McNiven kept having to be loaned out to different teams. It was difficult for him to find consistent playing time as most organizations would prefer to develop their own goaltender rather than someone who belongs to another team.
Finally, at the end of February, the Canadiens loaned Keith Kinkaid to the Charlotte Checkers, opening up a roster spot for McNiven with the Laval Rocket. He played just three games before the league was shutdown, but he looked great.
It was obviously a small sample, but McNiven again lowered his GAA and raised his SV% from the previous season. He showed he could be a reliable backup for Primeau, though they are both young goaltenders.
McNiven was rewarded for his patience and solid play in the minors with a one-year contract extension yesterday. It is a two-way contract that will ensure he stays in the AHL in 2020-21. He will get a much better opportunity to prove himself next season.
McNiven was sort of the forgotten goaltender in the organization this season. However, he got into a few AHL games at the end of the year and proved he belonged at that level. Expect him to post some pretty impressive numbers as Primeau’s backup next season and jump back on the team’s radar.