Montreal Canadiens: Another Year, Another Team For Dustin Tokarski

Former Montreal Canadiens backup Dustin Tokarski is on his sixth team in six seasons, after signing a two-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday.

For the Montreal Canadiens, backup goaltending is something the team has been lacking in, especially in recent years.

Long removed from the days of Peter Budaj’s reliability, with the former Colorado Avalanche and LA Kings starter posting an 8-1-1 record with a 2.29 GAA in 2012-13, the team has seen numerous different options come and go, with varying levels of success.

In the past two seasons, lack of production from both Antti Niemi and Keith Kinkaid led to AHL starter Charlie Lindgren becoming the team’s second option at times, with Carey Price playing 66 and 58 games, respectively. With the acquisition of former St. Louis Blues starter Jake Allen this off-season, that should hopefully come to an end, with Allen having a solid track record over his seven seasons in the league.

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However, on Wednesday, one particular former option signed elsewhere, in the midst of what has been a pretty unprecedented off-season. Dustin Tokarski is a name most Habs fans will have both good and bad memories of in what many people see as the Canadiens last true shot at a Stanley Cup. A fifth round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2008, Tokarski put up back to back 30-win seasons in his final two years of junior with the Spokane Chiefs. Since then, the Saskatchewan native has played for 12 different teams split across the NHL and AHL, seeing his role change numerous times.

On Wednesday, Tokarski signed a two-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres, with an average value of 725,000$. Over the past five seasons, Tokarski has played for five different AHL teams, having built a reputation as a former starter turned solid backup. However, for a brief time, Tokarski was seen as a legitimate second option in the NHL, after being dealt from the Lightning to the Canadiens for Cedrick Desjardins in February of 2014. Originally seen as an afterthought to Montreal, Tokarski would eventually usurp Budaj as Price’s backup in that year’s playoffs, as the Canadiens made a run to the eastern conference finals.

Following Price’s injury in game one of the series against the New York Rangers, Tokarski stepped in. While the Canadiens ultimately fell in six games, Tokarski’s impressive play in keeping the Habs alive, earned him the backup job come the 2014-15 season, with Budaj being traded to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Eric Tangradi. After posting a shaky 6-6-4 record however, Tokarski was usurped again by undrafted free agent Mike Condon the following season. After a poor start to the AHL season with the St. John’s IceCaps, Tokarski was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in January of 2016 for Max Friberg.

Since then, Tokarski has only played one more NHL game, getting into 10 minutes of relief with the Ducks in the 2016-17 season. At 31 years old, its unlikely he’ll see NHL action again, barring injuries. He’s mainly an option for the Sabres in the upcoming NHL expansion draft, with the team not having a goalie that filled the exposure requirements, besides starters Carter Hutton and Linus Ullmark. Aside from this, he’ll give the Sabres flexibility in regard to their callups, and act as a veteran presence to AHL starter Jonas Johansson, and prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, should the AHL season resume.

For the Canadiens, former seventh round pick Cayden Primeau should continue his role as the Laval Rocket’s starter and top prospect for the team, with undrafted free agent Michael McNiven and possibly ECHL starter Connor Lacouvee as secondary options. Should next season begin play, the Rocket will be looking build on a 30-24-8 record and chance at a playoff birth this past season, with head coach Joel Bouchard receiving a host of new rookie talents, like former Memorial Cup MVP Joël Teasdale. The Canadiens lack of AHL signings in this off-season is a sign of both the team’s confidence in the Rocket’s current roster, and uncertainty regarding the fate of next AHL season.

It’s been a off-season of uncertainty for both the Canadiens, Rocket, and Tokarski, and we still don’t have many concrete answers regarding when play will resume amidst ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. One thing’s for certain however, the Canadiens might have finally found a solid second option for Price, and Dustin Tokarski has found another team, to continue his long and winding career.