A Winning Habit
Fansided

Montreal Canadiens: Three Key Habs Storylines As 2023-24 Season Begins

By Ken MacMillan

Sep 30, 2023; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens left wing Juraj Slafkovsky (20) plays the puck against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 30, 2023; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens left wing Juraj Slafkovsky (20) plays the puck against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
Sep 29, 2023; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens goalie Cayden Primeau. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 29, 2023; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens goalie Cayden Primeau. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports /

Three Goaltenders Can’t Coexist All Season

The Canadiens are one of the few teams around the league that elected to keep three goaltenders on the opening night roster. They were worried about losing Cayden Primeau for nothing if they tried to pass him through waivers and send him down to the Laval Rocket.

So, the Canadiens will keep a three-headed goaltending monster on the team. At least for now. Sam Montembeault and Jake Allen handled the bulk of the team’s games in goal last season and appear set to do that again.

But how does Primeau fit into things? That is what we will need to sit back and wait to see how it all plays out. There is simply not enough game action to go around to keep all three goaltenders happy. That’s 27 games apiece throughout the season which just isn’t enough for a full-time NHL netminder.

The Habs don’t have a lot of options if they are not willing to put anyone on waivers. Primeau would likely be claimed, but he hasn’t played a lot so he would not have much trade value either. Allen’s contract ensures he does not have a lot of value on the open market and he is a repsected veteran the team would like to keep anyway.

Montembeault could possibly be traded, but if a team was willing to pick him up, wouldn’t they have done it before the season began? With veteran Martin Jones recently passing through waivers unclaimed, it appears there are not many teams in the goaltending market at all.

Allen is going to play opening night, and the Canadiens only play three games in the first ten days of the regular season so no one will be busy early on. But who gets the bulk of the starts this season is going to be an interesting question to follow all year.

Home/Habs News