Canadiens use goalie coach as scapegoat amid Montembeault’s struggles

The Montreal Canadiens announced Wednesday morning that they are relieving goaltending coach Eric Raymond of his duties. Raymond had been the team’s goalie coach since 2021, after taking over the position from Sean Burke. The Canadiens named Marco Marciano as the new goaltending coach on an interim basis and will reassess the situation again at the end of the season.

The Canadiens goaltending has struggled this season, specifically Samuel Montembeault, who ranks 57th in save percentage and 54th in goals against average, out of 60 qualified goalies. The firing seems synonymous with the Canadiens' continued backing of Montembeault, who has been nowhere close to the goalie Habs fans saw last season. The hope is likely that a fresh new voice could help spark a turnaround for Montembeault, which could also mean this is the Quebec-born netminder’s final chance at turning his season around.

Trying to fix one damaged the other

The Canadiens have been determined all season long to prioritize getting Montembeault back to the form he was playing at last season, which has had negative effects on Jakub Dobes. Dobes began the season red hot, winning his first six starts, but instead of riding with the hot hand, the Canadiens chose to go back to Montembeault in the hopes that he could break out of his slump.

Following Dobes six-game winning streak, he went nine days before he got his next start. The gap between starts damaged Dobes’ play, as he lost his next four starts, while Montembeault's struggles continued during that period. So much so that the Canadiens were forced to call up their top goalie prospect, Jacob Fowler, earlier than anyone would have anticipated.

Last-ditch effort

Fowler injected new energy into the Canadiens locker room, winning his first career start against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The win drew comparisons to former Habs greats like Ken Dryden, Patrick Roy, and Carey Price, who all got their first win against the Penguins. During this time, the Canadiens sent Montembeault to the Laval Rocket on a short conditioning stint. Once the conditioning stint was over, the Canadiens elected to run a three-goalie rotation, but after it looked like Montembeault’s play was on the uptick, they chose to send Fowler back to Laval.

Almost immediately after sending Fowler back to Laval, Montembeault’s play went back to what we were seeing early in the season. In the three games Montembeault has started since Fowler was sent back to Laval, he has posted a 4.09 goals against average and an .829 save percentage. He has not been good enough this season to continue as the Canadiens starter moving forward. Raymond being let go feels like a last-ditch effort to fix Montembeault, and if his play does not improve, we could be looking at his final season in Montreal.