Hughes: Habs might not trade goalie even with logjam
Though the Montreal Canadiens have a bit of a logjam in the crease, general manager Kent Hughes isn't guaranteeing he'll make a move to thin things out.
"We decided to keep three goalies and evaluate the potential trades from there," he told reporters during his midseason availability, as translated by Montreal Hockey Now's Marc Dumont. "The plan was not to have three goalies all year. It's still not the plan. But I can't tell you 100% that we'll make a goaltender trade."
Goaltending has been a position of need for multiple teams this campaign. The Oilers were reportedly interested in the Habs' trio of Jake Allen, Sam Montembeault, and Cayden Primeau during Edmonton's early-season slump.
The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun also pointed out the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils as teams to monitor in early December. For the Hurricanes, Frederik Andersen is out indefinitely due to a blood clotting issue, while Antti Raanta has struggled immensely. In New Jersey, both Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid have performed below expectations.
Here's how the Canadiens' three netminders have fared this season:
| Goalie | GP | SV% | GAA | GSAA | GSAX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jake Allen | 14 (4-8-2) | .900 | 3.52 | -0.96 | 3.04 |
| Sam Montembeault | 20 (9-6-4) | .909 | 2.89 | 4.26 | 9.89 |
| Cayden Primeau | 9 (4-4-1) | .905 | 3.13 | -0.09 | 1.46 |
(Advanced stats source: Evolving-Hockey)
Montembeault, who signed a three-year extension with a $3.15-million cap hit in December, has started the lion's share of the Canadiens' games this campaign. Allen, a 33-year-old veteran, is signed through 2025 with an average annual value of $3.85 million. His pact includes a modified no-trade clause. Primeau, the youngest of the group at 24 years old, is signed for one more campaign at an $890,000 cap hit.
Hughes noted that he didn't want to place Primeau on waivers to ease the Canadiens' surplus out of fear of losing the netminder.
In addition, Hughes said he doesn't feel any "urgency" to clear out Montreal's wealth of defensemen, per Sportsnet. He added that there's "no question" he wants to add some offense and isn't opposed to using the Canadiens' depth in other positions, or picks, to get something done, according to Dumont.
The executive also addressed Cole Caufield's struggles to find the back of the net this season. Caufield has just 12 goals in 42 games this campaign while being hampered by a 7.8% shooting percentage after tallying 26 goals in 46 outings last season.
"I won't use the words worrisome or disappointing, but you want to see your scorers score," Hughes said, as translated by Eyes on the Prize's Jared Book. "What I don't want is (for Cole to play) differently because he feels pressure. We want Cole to be Cole."
The Canadiens currently sit in sixth place in the Atlantic Division with a 17-18-7 record.