The Montreal Canadiens have shown dramatic improvement in each of the last two seasons. They made the playoffs a year ago and pushed the Washington Capitals hard before losing in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Head coach Martin St. Louis has seen the improvement continue this season behind the incredible play of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Lane Hutson, Ivan Demidov and Juraj Slafkovsky. The Canadiens (29-17-7) have become one of the most exciting teams in the Eastern Conference, but they are not in the top three teams of the Atlantic Division.
They are a Wild Card team along with the Boston Bruins. There are issues with this team, and one of those issues came to the surface when they played the Bruins last Saturday in Boston. The Habs took a 3-2 lead into the third period of their game with their archrivals, but goaltender Sam Montembeault allowed two goals within 12 seconds in the third period and that one-goal advantage turned into a 4-3 defeat.
The loss had huge ramifications in the days that followed. The Canadiens made a significant move on the St. Louis' coaching staff as goaltending coach Eric Raymond was fired and he was replaced by Marco Marciano. It wasn't just the loss in Boston that led to that move. Montembeault and backup goaltender Jakub Dobes have both struggled throughout much of the season. The Canadiens have recalled Jacob Fowler from the American Hockey League.
Goaltending has not been good enough
While there are additional defensive issues impacting the team, the goaltending has to be significantly better if the Canadiens are going to hold on to their playoff spot and have success once they get there.
The immediate move of firing the goalie coach and promoting a minor leaguer could help, but Montreal executive vice president Jeff Gorton and general manager Kent Hughes need to make a trade to bring in better goaltending for this team to reach its best level.
Montembeault has a record of 9-8-2 with a 3.46 goals against average and an .868 save percentage. Dobes has been somewhat better with a 16-5-3 record, a 2.96 GAA and an .890 save percentage. Fowler has been up and down with the team, and his record when he has played for the big-league team is 4-4-2 with a 2.62 GAA and a .902 save percentage.
Despite the numbers, the Canadiens need Montembeault to be the team's best goalie. They need him to make key stops in the third period — and that's what he failed to do against the Bruins.
“Listen, I think the easiest thing to do is blame the goalies,” Gorton said, per The Athletic. “It’s not just the goalies. Anytime something like this happens, it’s on all of us. So we’ll all take that, we’ll all take the responsibility, and we’ll move forward.”
Bringing in a new goalie coach is one thing, but bringing in a new goalie like Jesper Wallstedt of the Minnesota Wild would be a much more productive move.
Wild goaltender may be the solution
Wallstedt has been the Wild's No. 2 goaltender behind Filip Gustavsson. He has a 13-5-4 record with a 2.71 GAA and a .914 save percentage. Despite those gaudy numbers, the Wild is apparently willing to trade him if they can pick up just a bit more front-line scoring.
It may be difficult for Wild general manager Bill Guerin to pull the trigger at the appropriate moment, but he has demonstrated that he is not afraid to swing for the fences when a big move is in front of him. Guerin acquired high-scoring defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks in December.
He is certainly not going to give Wallstedt away. However, there is no way the Canadiens will trade any of their potential superstars. Suzuki, Caufield, Hutson and Demidov are untouchable and Slafkovsky and defenseman Noah Dobson are close to that level.
Would the Canadiens trade rookie center Oliver Kapanen, defenseman Mike Matheson or winger Zack Bolduc? Those moves would not be easy, but one of those players could entice Guerin to make the move. The Canadiens might have to include Dobes or Fowler and possibly a draft pick to ensure that the deal will be made
Canadiens have high hopes and should make a big deal
The Eastern Conference is extremely competitive. While the Tampa Bay Lightning have played excellent hockey after a struggling start to the season, there is no reason that a team like the Canadiens could not engage them at some point in the postseason and come out with the victory.
That would certainly be the case if Gorton made a trade and brought in an excellent goaltender like Wallstedt. A new goalie coach is not going to fix Montembeault. The Habs need better goaltending and they need to make a trade for Wallstedt before the Olympic break.
