Sam Montembeault Canadiens 2024 Year-in-Review

The 2024 year was supposed to be different for the Montreal Canadiens. They believed their rebuild was starting to end, and they wondered whether 2024 would end with them looking ahead to a run at the playoffs in 2025. The year ended with a string of wins that elevated them to sixth place in the Atlantic Division, but they are still seven points behind in a playoff race. This series will examine how each player performed over the 2024 calendar year.  Next up is our first goalie in the series, Sam Montembeault.

It was an eventful 2024 for Montembeault, as he became the far-and-away starting netminder for the Canadiens and, as we recently found out, cemented his place as one of the top goalies in Canada. Montembeault has been getting plenty of action, ranking first in the league in games this season, which is quite an accomplishment considering some of the other workhorses in the league.

Montembeault's season has succeeded, with the defensive unit standing before him every night. Montreal's defense has been one of the biggest disasters this season, but he has a 2.85 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage. Montembeault has been good, but he plays so many games because of Cayden Primeau's poor play. The team has lost faith in their backup goaltender, and Montembeault will start his tenth consecutive game on December 23.

Sam Montembeault 2024 Highlights

The biggest highlight of Montembeault's season is an easy one. The return of best-on-best international hockey signaled the beginning of roster debate. The glaring weakness for Team Canada for this year's Four Nations Faceoff was their goaltending, as the days of Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur, and Carey Price were gone.

However, the Montreal Canadiens/Quebec goaltending connection lives on for this year's tournament, as Montembeault (both a Quebec resident and Montreal Canadien) will don the red and white at this year's tournament. It'll also be a good audition to get a spot on Team Canada at next year's Olympics. With all the talk of Jacob Fowler leaving college and debuting with Montreal, the fans need to appreciate what they currently have.

The highlight of the season for Montembeault in a Habs jersey was on opening night. He recorded a 48-save shutout to get the season-opening win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The rest of the season hasn't always gone as smoothly, but it was a perfect start to the year.