The Montreal Canadiens are back in their winning ways and are very much set up for the future. Patrik Laine, Nick Suzuki, and Cole Caufield lead the way up front alongside the young talent of Juraj Slafkovsky and Lane Hutson. However, they are still missing that generational talent in net that the Habs are known for winning with.

Carey Price, Patrick Roy, Ken Dryden, and Jacques Plante are some of the legendary players who took the crease for the bleu, blanc, et rouge. But who’s next?

Let’s examine some of the goalies in Montreal’s system and see who is the best of the best (for now.)

Samuel Montembeault

The 2024-2025 season will be Montembeault’s fourth as the Canadiens’ starter, and personally I have mixed reactions if he becomes our starter for the foreseeable future.

The main problem is that Montembeault’s glove hand tends to disappear at times, and his stats aren’t exactly perfect. So far this season, Montembeault has a .900 SV% and a 2.88 GAA. This is also his third-best season with the Canadiens, as he had a below-.900 SV% in his first year with the team.

On the bright side, the argument can be made that he has been better than expected, considering he was a below-average backup with Florida to start his career. His underlying stats this year prove this, as he has 17.9 goals saved above expected. As a comparison, Conor Hellebuyck has 34.4 at the time of writing. This 17.9 puts him 8th amongst goalies who have played more than 17 games, right behind Lukas Dostal.

On the other hand, he is letting in a lot of shots. His goals against currently sit at 141, which is 54th amongst goalies who have played more than 17 games. He is currently ahead of Igor Shesterkin, Juuse Saros, Ukko-Pekka Luukonen, and Jeremy Swayman, who sits dead last with 155.

He has also played a career-high 52 games so far this season.

To summarize this information, he is serviceable and surpassing expectations, but they weren’t that high to begin with on a rebuilding Habs team. It works, but how long can the team use Montembeault before it becomes what keeps them from getting back to the finals?

Another point to consider is what happens when Fowler moves up to the Habs’ roster? Will the Habs run with their two young netminders and work with a Dobes-Fowler tandem, or keep Montembeault around through their contention? They could cash in on his value, but that has yet to be determined as Fowler hasn’t played an NHL game yet.

Jakub Dobes

With what he has done in his rookie campaign, Jakub Dobes has surprised pretty much everyone in the NHL. He looks to be a future starter for Montreal.

In 17 games this season, Dobes has posted a 2.71 GAA and a .907 SV%. He has spent the two seasons of his professional career as the starting netminder for a contending Laval Rocket team, who, as of typing this, are first in the entire AHL.

The only problem with Dobes is that he is still young. His goals saved above expected is only a 4.7, and he has had good and bad games. He has given up five goals against twice in his last five starts and gave up three goals on five shots against the Lightning on Feb. 9th. Despite his hot start, he is experiencing the usual hiccups of a rookie goalie who was good to start the year.

If he spends next season getting more reps in net and an entire offseason with an NHL club, he should improve his game slightly. I would expect him to get close to 20 starts next season (barring any unforeseen circumstances like an injury or trade,) and split more of the games with Montembeault. If the Habs do keep Dobes long-term, the question is whether Jacob Fowler gets the starting job in the future or they move to a 1A/1B style like the Bruins found success with.

Jacob Fowler 

Fun fact: Jacob Fowler has NEVER had a SV% below a .927 in his entire career, dating back to his  16UAAA days. Seriously. The only exception to this was he played 3 games for the U.S. World Junior team last season and was ok. He put up an .889 SV% through three games. Other than that, however, pure dominance.

Sporting a 1.64 GAA and a .940 SV% through 33 games this season, Fowler is currently one of the most anticipated prospects in the Habs system. Although these numbers aren’t sustainable, and he won’t put up as ridiculous of numbers at the pro level, it is intriguing that his stats have been THIS good throughout every level of hockey he has played.

In the past two seasons with Boston College, he has racked up a record of 56-12-3, with a 1.93 GAA and a .932 SV%. He made the NCAA all-American team for the second time, is a Hockey-East champion, and has been named a finalist for the Mike Richter Goaltender of the Year for the second straight season.

If even a fraction of his talent at the NCAA level transfers over, Montreal will have its goaltending position secured for the next twenty years.

I’m curious as to whether he stays in Laval to get some adjusting to pro hockey before coming up or gets right to business at the NHL level.