One of the biggest concerns for the Montreal Canadiens for most of the season has been their goalie position. The team entered the season with the expectation that Sam Montembeault would be the starter after an excellent season last year. Unfortunately, he has been very inconsistent, and it has been Jakub Dobes and Jacob Fowler who have been clearly their best two.
The challenge is that the Canadiens can't have both on the roster with Montembeault, and that means they have to make the decision if it is time to move on from him. He currently has one year left on his contract with a reasonable AAV of $3.125 million. There would certainly be teams interested if made available, but Montreal must decide if it wants to move forward with two goalies with limited experience in the playoffs, as Dobes has appeared in only three games and Fowler has none.
Since the beginning of January, Jakub Dobes has earned his spot as the starting goalie for the Canadiens, as he has gone 6-0-1 and allowed three or fewer goals in five of those seven games. Meanwhile, Montembeault has been solid with a 4-2-1 record and allowed three or fewer goals in five of seven games.
Jacob Fowler's incredible stretch of games in the AHL might force the Montreal Canadiens to have no choice but bring him back
The Canadiens made the decision a few weeks ago that Dobes and Montemebeault would be their goalies as they sent Jacob Fowler back down to the AHL. However, Fowler performance might be enough to have Montreal reconsider.
Fowler has made 10 starts for Laval since returning and gone 8-2 over that stretch. He has a save percentage of .910 and allowed two or fewer goals in five of his last six games.
Coming out of the Olympic break, the Montreal Canadiens have only three games before the March 6th Trade Deadline. This won't give them much opportunity to add anything to the evaluation at the position.
If the Canadiens don't trade Montembeault, it doesn't necessarily stop them from bring Fowler back up. However, it does create a challenge for the coaching staff in how they handle the rotation to ensure none of their goalies get rusty with extended breaks.
It will certainly be an interesting few weeks at the position, and it is something Canadiens fans should watch closely leading up to the trade deadline.