Canadiens minor league trade hints Jacob Fowler is staying in the NHL

While the NHL Trade Deadline passed on March 6th, the trade deadline for the AHL is a week later. The Montreal Canadiens’ farm team, the Laval Rocket, made a move that will have a ripple effect on the parent club. The Canadiens/Rocket traded Riley Kidney to the Ottawa/Belleville Senators in exchange for goalie Hunter Shepard and forward Jake Chiasson. Because the trade occurs after the NHL Trade Deadline, neither of the players is eligible to play for their NHL franchise in the playoffs, but that does not mean it does not have any implications for their teams going forward.

Who are the Canadiens getting?

The player leaving the Canadiens organization, Kidney, was a 2021 second-round pick who has played the majority of this season with the franchise's ECHL affiliate, Trois-Rivières Lions. Kidney became known to Canadiens fans after recording back-to-back 100-plus point seasons in the QMJHL, split between the Acadie-Bathurst Titan and Gatineau Olympiques, before making the jump to the AHL. Kidney has struggled to replicate the production he had in the juniors, recording 20 and 16 points with the Rocket over the past two seasons. With the Canadiens' abundance of talent, Kidney struggled to find a spot in the Rocket lineup. The trade gives him a fresh opportunity to show his QMJHL production was no fluke.

In return, the Canadiens received goaltender Shepard and forward Chiasson. Chiasson was a 2021 fourth-round pick and has spent most of the last three seasons split between Ottawa’s AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators and a variety of ECHL teams. Chiasson likely fills the same depth role in the Canadiens system as a player who can jump up and down from the AHL to the ECHL to fill in for injuries or when a Rocket player gets called up to Montreal.

The other piece of the trade, goaltender Shepard, was an undrafted free agent who has spent the majority of his professional career in the AHL, playing for the Hershey Bears and the AHL Senators. Shepard has played 15 games for Belleville this season, posting a 6-7-2 record with a 3.65 goals against average and a .885 save percentage. While it is just an AHL trade, the Canadiens' acquiring another goalie indicates that top prospect Jacob Fowler will be playing the rest of his season in Montreal.

Jacob Fowler sticking around in Montreal

Fowler was called up to the Canadiens for the second time this season and got the start against the Senators on March 11th. The former 2023 third-round pick continues to establish himself as the future number one goalie for the Canadiens with his 32-save performance, where he made multiple crucial saves late to secure the win for Montreal.

Asked why Fowler was getting the start against Ottawa prior to the game, head coach Martin St. Louis said: “You look at where we are today and results are important, I think it’s the best decision for the game tonight.”

The Atlantic Division is a tight race, with just eight points separating first place and the second wild card spot. With just 18 games remaining on their schedule, every game from now on is crucial for the Canadiens’ goal of reaching the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Given the stakes, the Canadiens' coaching staff and front office believe their best chance of winning is with the tandem of Jakub Dobes and Fowler, leaving Samuel Montembault as the third option.

Montembeault’s struggles have been a huge talking point throughout this season, but with less than 20 games remaining in the regular season, the Canadiens are running out of time for him to rediscover the version of himself we saw last season. Montreal believes their best chance at winning is moving forward with the tandem of Dobes and Fowler, and that was further cemented with the addition of Shepard, who will provide cover for Kaapo Kahkonen with the Rocket while Fowler is in Montreal.