Canadiens: Three Strategies For Replacing Carey Price if Necessary

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The Montreal Canadiens made perhaps the most shocking decision leading into the expansion draft when they chose to expose goaltender Carey Price.

The rumours about whether he will stay or go to the Seattle Kraken have taken some wild twists and turns already and I’m sure that won’t stop until the selections are made tomorrow night.

Until then, us fans will have to wait patiently before we find out who the Kraken will be taking from the Canadiens.

However, general manager Marc Bergevin doesn’t have to be patient. He should already be exploring his options just in case his franchise goaltender is about to head west and become the face of an expansion franchise. There is a roster freeze in place until Thursday morning so Bergevin can’t do anything official, but he can certainly explore his options and start planning for a Price-less future, just in case.

It seems almost unfathomable to Habs fans that the team may have a new starting goaltender tomorrow night, but the National Hockey League is a business and no matter what a player has done for a team, he will eventually move on.

With Price signed to the biggest contract of any goalie in the league, that being a cap hit of $10.5 million for the next five season, we didn’t think this day would come so soon.

But, it could be here much faster than anyone anticipated. If it does arrive tomorrow, here are the various avenues that Bergevin can go down to try and find his new number one goaltender.

WASHINGTON – APRIL 28: Jaroslav Halak Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Free Agents

The simplest way to try and acquire a new player to fill a void at the NHL level is to browse the free agent market. This hasn’t always been the easiest route for Canadian teams to take since the tax situation in the province of Quebec is far less inviting for big money earners than playing in the state of Florida or Nevada or Texas among others.

However, there are only so many goaltending jobs to go around and taking over the starting role for the Montreal Canadiens has to be a desirable one for many free agent goaltenders.

Jaroslav Halak

Jaroslav Halak had a tremendous stint with the Canadiens after being drafted by them in the 9th round of the 2003 NHL Draft. His last season with the team saw him carry them to the Eastern Conference Finals after being the sole reason the Habs were able to take down the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins in two enormous upsets.

Halak has been the number two behind Tuukka Rask with the Boston Bruins for the past three seasons, though he has played nearly half the team’s games. He had a 2.53 GAA and a .905 SV% this season in 19 games and would serve as the perfect platoon mate with Jake Allen as well as being a short term stop gap before Cayden Primeau takes the next step.

Philipp Grubauer

Philipp Grubauer has quietly been one of the most consistent goaltenders in the league over the past six seasons. Though his first two years were primarily in backup duty, the 29 year old has never posted a SV% below .916 and had a .922 SV% to go with a 1.95 GAA this season in 40 games for the Colorado Avalanche.

The Avs have a lot of decision to make financially this offseason and Grubauer may hit the open market after finishing as a nominee for the Vezina Trophy this season. Though he will surely be looking for a raise on his $3.33 million cap hit, the German netminder would come in at nearly half of Carey Price’s current cap hit.

May 7, 2021; San Jose, California, USA; Darcy Kuemper Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports /

Trade Market

The Canadiens have built up a ton of draft capital over the past three seasons and have tons of picks heading into this week’s NHL Draft. They could elect to use some of it to trade for a new starting goalie if Price heads to Seattle tomorrow night.

Darcy Kuemper

Probably the most intriguing name on the trade market this offseason is Arizona Coyotes goalie Darcy Kuemper. The 31 year old had a 2.56 GAA and a .907 SV% in 22 games this season after two fantastic years with the Coyotes. Previously, Kuemper posted a 2.22 GAA and a .928 SV% in 2019-20 and a 2.33 GAA with a .925 SV% in 2018-19.

Acquiring Kuemper would probably cost the Canadiens their first round draft pick this year, but that is 30th overall and they still have a couple of second rounders. Bergevin has never traded the team’s first round pick, but he may need to if he has to replace Carey Price.

Marc Andre Fleury

The Canadiens don’t need a long term solution in net as they have Jake Allen signed for a couple more years to act as the backup and they have Cayden Primeau waiting in the wings to take on an NHL job. That’s why trading for Marc Andre Fleury would be perfect.

Fleury is from the province of Quebec and has a long history of solid goaltending. He has been excellent for the Vegas Golden Knights since their inception, but he has one year left on his contract at $7 million and Robin Lehner has four more years to go on his deal with a $5 million cap hit.

If the Golden Knights want to patch up their defence or centre ice position they might need some additional cap space and getting Fleury off the books would certainly help. It wouldn’t cost the Canadiens much either since the Golden Knights need the cap space to either retain to replace Alec Martinez and find a suitable centre for Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone.

May 18, 2021; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Chris Driedger Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /

Get Kraken to pick Habs next starter

The Canadiens could get a little more creative than just signing a free agent or trading for another team’s starter. This being the offseason of expansion, the Habs could use the Kraken to help them find a replacement for Carey Price. With the way side deals and maneuvering could happen at the expansion draft, this could already be agreed to as part of the reason Carey Price was made available.

Chris Driedger

It is definitely a long shot but Chris Driedger sounds like he has already agreed to terms on a new contract with the Seattle Kraken. Or, is it possible that he could be headed to Montreal via Seattle and leaving room for Carey Price to be the Kraken’s first starter?

With Florida being in the same division as Montreal, perhaps they didn’t want to send a goalie to the Habs to help them out and drastically increase the amount of cap space they have to spend this offseason. Perhaps, Bergevin talked Ron Francis into selecting Driedger from the Panthers and then flipping him to the Canadiens for a second round pick. It is definitely possible.

Driedger doesn’t have a long track record but he has a successful one thus far in his NHL career. The 27 year old has played just 38 games in his career, but has a 2.09 GAA and a .929 SV% in that time.

Kaapo Kahkonen

This idea admittedly wouldn’t replace Carey Price so much as it would elevate Jake Allen into the starter’s role. However, Kahkonen is a young goaltender who has shown a lot of promise in his career so far. He was drafted in 2014 by the Minnesota Wild and put up solid numbers in Finland before making his way to the AHL for the 2018-19 season.

Kahkonen has only played 29 NHL games so far but he showed a lot of potential at the AHL level a year ago and was solid for the Minnesota Wild in his rookie NHL season this year. He is just 24 and would be a backup for Jake Allen next season but would have the potential to form a solid long term tandem with Primeau once Allen moves on.

Next. Who will the Kraken take from the Canadiens?. dark

It would be a gamble, but it also would not cost much. Kahkonen has a $725,000 cap hit next season which would free up nearly $10 million compared to Price’s contract. Trying to predict an expansion draft is nearly impossible, but if Price is selected there are several interesting options available to replace him.

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