The Montreal Canadiens went an unconventional route at the beginning of the season with their roster construction.
The team elected to keep three goaltenders on the roster at that time, which most teams do not do at any point in the season. The Canadiens had Sam Montembeault on an expiring contract looking to prove himself, Cayden Primeau looking to show he belonged at the NHL level and Jake Allen as a trusted veteran and all three made the team after training camp.
It was thought at the time that this would be a short term situation and the team would find a trade to bring that number down to two. However, we are near the trade deadline now and have played well over half the regular season and the team still has all three goaltenders on the roster.
There has always been some hope that the team would find a way to move out one of the goaltenders and just carry two goalies down the stretch. There have been plenty of rumors swirling around Jake Allen, but still no trade has been made to date.
According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the top insider in the game of hockey, the three goaltender system in Montreal is expected to continue until the summer. He made note of it in a recent 32 Thoughts article on Sportsnet's website.
Elliotte Friedman on the Habs at the upcoming trade deadline.
— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) March 4, 2024
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This can't really be shocking since Allen hasn't exactly played to the level that contending teams are desperately trying to acquire him. He has a 3.65 GAA and a .892 save percentage on the year and just has not been steady enough to attract the atention of opposing teams.
The problem with the three goalie system stretching into the offseason is that all three netminders are signed through next season as well. Allen makes $3.85 million while Montembeault earns $3.15 million for each of the next three seasons and Primeau will have a cap hit of $890,000 before being a restricted free agent.
Could we still be talking about the three goalie system at next year's trade deadline? It is starting to feel that way but a solution should be found in the summer.