It was pretty obvious that the goaltender situation with the Montreal Canadiens was getting beyond dire. Cayden Primeau desperately needs to head back down to Laval to rebuild his confidence and Samuel Montembeault, who’s been playing injured for weeks now, desperately needs a break.
Fans woke up on Saturday morning with news of a trade to do just that.
Heading to Minnesota is rugged AHL winger Brandon Baddock. The hulking 6’3 221 pound winger will report directly to the Wild’s affiliate the Iowa Wild. With the Rocket this year he amassed 3 goals, 4 assists for 7 points in 33 games. He also tallied 77 penalty minutes, further solidifying his reputation as a fighting grinder in the AHL.
Andrew Hammond is a name that might ring a bell to some. Although he hasn’t played in the NHL since the 2017-18 season playing one lone game with the Colorado Avalanche, Hammond will surely be fondly remembered for his days with the Ottawa Senators when he was affectionately known as “The Hamburgler.” He had signed as an undrafted free agent in 2013 with the Senators and made his debut in 2015 where he took the league by storm finishing with a 20-1-2 record in 23 starts, tagged along a spotless 1.79 GAA and .941 save percentage. That year the Senators were eliminated by the Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.
Minutes after the trade was confirmed, the Canadiens announced they had recalled Hammond to the NHL level while sending Cayden Primeau down to Laval. Exactly what was needed to happen.
Andrew Hammond will be in Montreal tomorrow. Cayden Primeau headed to Laval, says Martin St. Louis, who also says he'll speak with Primeau before he goes down.
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) February 12, 2022
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