NHL insider believes Montreal Canadiens goalie could be available at trade deadline

The Montreal Canadiens need a change at the goalie position; there is no question of that based on the recent play. However, they have a few options in terms of how they approach it.

They certainly could look to add a veteran like Sergei Bobrovsky, but that would result in having to send assets to complete the trade. One path the Canadiens could take that might end up being the best for them this season (and possibly beyond) is moving Samuel Montembeault.

This would create a path for a player like Jacob Fowler to come up from the AHL and compete with Jakub Dobes for the starting job. According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Montreal Canadiens at least could be considering this as he tweeted that Montembeault is in play ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline.

Montreal Canadiens should jump at the chance to move Sam Montembeault's contract

One of the reasons the Montreal Canadiens should be thinking about moving Montembeault is due to his contract that runs through next season with an AAV of $3.15 million. It is a significant salary for a goalie who has struggled to remain the starter.

After an excellent season where he had a save percentage of .901 and a goals against average of 2.82, Montembeault has struggled with a save percentage of only .874 and a goals agaisnt average of 3.37. He has really struggled as of late going 2-2-1 over the last five games but allowed four or more goals in three of those games.

Meanwhile, the Canadiens have Jacob Fowler down in the AHL playing great hockey after an impressive 10 game stretch in Montreal earlier in the season. He would go 4-4-2 over those 10 games but had the best goals against average of any of the Canadiens goalies this season at 2.62 with a save percentage of .902.

He has continued to play well since returning to the AHL and gone 6-0-1 over his last seven starts and allowed three or fewer goals in six of those games.

If the Canadiens can move Montembeault, it opens up an opportunity to bring Fowler back up to the NHL. It can then be an open competition between the two over the final 20 games or so of the regular season and give the coaching staff the chance to determine which goalie would be best for the playoffs.

The biggest question is whether there is even a market for Montembeault as he has been average with a significant contract for a goalie. If a team is worth taking the risk, the Canadiens shouldn't wait to get that deal done.