The Montreal Canadiens are right in the middle of a very competitive Atlantic Division, but could easily fall out of the playoffs entirely as they are only three points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets. They can't afford to have many games as they did against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night.
One of the reasons for the 7-5 loss to the Sharks was Jakub Dobes in net, who allowed six goals on 27 shots. He had a great stretch in January where he had six straight wins, but has gone 1-1-1 over his last three starts.
When considering that Samuel Montemebeault hasn't been much better, the Canadiens cannot afford not to explore adding a goalie before the trade deadline. It is a market that seemingly has grown heading into the 3 PM deadline, and ESPN's Kevin Weekes described it as an 'intriguing market'.
Canadiens could have options beyond Sergei Bobrvosky and Jordan Binnington
The two players that have seemingly been out there for a while now have been Florida Panthers Sergei Bobrovsky and St. Louis Blues Jordan Binnington. For what the Canadiens need, Bobrovsky would be a perfect answer with his experience playing in big games and the playoffs.
In the tweet on Friday morning, Weekes did include those two players but expanded it to several other goalies who could be out there. The other goalies were:
- Jesper Wallstedt (Minnesota Wild)
- Connor Ingram (Edmonton Oilers)
- Anthony Stolarz (Toronto Maple Leafs)
- Stuart Skinner (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Of the four players in this group, Jesper Wallstedt is having the best season of the goalies and has gone 14-6-4 for the Wild with a save percentage of .910 and a goals against average of 2.85. He also has four shutouts on the season, while Montreal combined has only one.
The concern with Wallstedt is that he doesn't have much playoff experience, and this is his first stretch of extended play at the NHL level. The Canadiens might not want to gamble on an unproven player at the position.
Stuart Skinner has already been traded once this season as the Oilers sent him to the Pittsburgh Penguins. In 15 games, Skinner has gone 8-5-2 and been average at best for the Penguins with a save percentage of .893 and a save percentage of 2.62.
Connor Ingram also was traded this season after he was placed on waivers by the Utah Mammoth and then eventually traded to the Oilers. He has been at a similar level to Skinner and neither player is a clear upgrade over what Montreal currently has on their roster.
Anthony Stolarz is an intriguing option as he led the league in save percentage each of the prior two seasons before this season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. This season has been a bit of a struggle, but that might be due more to the team than the player.
While Bobrovsky should be the top priority and the one that makes sense to overpay to an extent, Stolarz might be the second-best option out there among the goalies ahead of the trade deadline.