It might be time for the Montreal Canadiens to trade one of their goalies. The team has lost five straight games and conceded 26 goals during that span. Coming into the season, goaltending was not viewed as a team strength, but it also was not seen as a major weakness. Samuel Montembeault was coming off the best season of his career, having set career highs in games played (61), goals against average (2.80), and achieving his second-best save percentage (.902). His presumed backup, Jakub Dobes, though in experience, had a great start to his career last year, posting a 2.74 goals against average and a .909 save percentage in 16 games.
Goaltending crisis
This season, one goalie got off to a red-hot start, and the other did not. Montembeault struggled out of the gate this season, while Dobes won his first six starts of the season. Instead of riding the hot hand, Martin St. Louis chose to go back to Montembeault in hopes of getting his starter going.
On Nov. 1, Jakub Dobes was named the NHL 3rd star of the month after going 6-0-0 with a 1.97 GAA & .930 sv% in October.
— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) November 21, 2025
MSL then started Sam Montembeault the next two games.
Dobes didn’t play another game until Nov. 6th and he hasn’t won a game since Oct. 28th. pic.twitter.com/D99oqYpQQS
That move backfired for both goaltenders. Dobes had to wait eight days for his next start after his incredible October performances and has not won since. The move put the Canadiens in a real conundrum of what to do in nets. Dobes has not been the same since October, but right now, Montembeault is becoming virtually unstartable, raising the question of whether the Canadiens need to shake up the goaltending room.
Usually, you want to sell high when trading a player, but with the way Montembeault has been playing, the Canadiens might want to cash in on whatever value he has left. He is not the Canadiens' goalie of the future. Dobes is still only 24 years old, and despite his up-and-down season, has shown the potential to be a starting goaltender in the NHL.
At the same time, Jacob Fowler will be in the NHL sooner or later, and many analysts view him as a potential star goalie and future number one in Montreal. It is way too soon to call up Fowler, who is playing this season with the Laval Rocket, but has had a great start to his first season in the AHL. If Montembeault's days in Montreal are numbered, the smart thing to do would be to cash in on any assets you can acquire, especially if his play is not helping the team.
Time to shake it up
While the Canadiens' goaltenders are struggling, another team in Canada may be having an even worse time with their goalies. The Edmonton Oilers' goaltending has been woeful this season, with both their goaltenders having a goals against average above 3.00 and a save percentage below .890, and with their superstar core, they want to act fast to reinforce that position. Montembeault's value is not as high as it was at the end of last season, but the Oilers are as desperate as ever to find goaltending, and the Canadiens could make him available.
The Canadiens brought in Kaapo Kahkonen this offseason just in case one of their goalies were to get injured. If the Canadiens were to trade Montembeault, Kahkonen could come in and be the backup, making Dobes the unquestioned starter. It would remove the headache in the locker room about who is going to start each and every night.
Kahkonen has played well with the Rocket in split time this season, posting a 4-2 record with a 2.35 goals against average and a .919 save percentage. The Canadiens' goaltending is not working right now, and it is only a matter of time before they shake up the unit.