Montreal Canadiens: Who Will Be Team’s MVP in 2024?
By Ryan Praught
If you’ve been reading my stuff for a while, you’d know I’m a big believer in Samuel Montembeault. He was asked to do a lot last season, and delivered despite the difficult circumstances. In fact, he would be my second-place vote for team MVP last year, right behind Suzuki. Goalies will always be pretty high up on that list, and Montembeault is no different.
In 40 games last season, the Canadiens netminder had 11.8 goals saved above expected (GSAx), tied for 12th in the league with Stars goalie Jake Oettinger. That’s very impressive behind the inexperienced D-core the Canadiens used last season. There were many instances in which Montembeault was the Canadiens’ best player on the ice last season.
In his 40 appearances last season, Montembeault stopped at least 30 shots 23 times, constantly dealing with heavy workloads. Still, he managed to keep his teams in games most nights and deserved recognition. And he got it.
Montembeault was rewarded for his play last season by getting to represent Canada at the World Championships, backstopping them to a Gold Medal. He’ll look to channel that into more success this year. He certainly has the ability to do that. He is my Darkhorse MVP candidate for this upcoming season.
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