The Montreal Canadiens have signed goaltender Samuel Montembeault to a two-year, one way, contract extension.
The Canadiens have agreed to terms with goaltender Samuel Montembeault on a two-year, one-way contract extension (2022-23 to 2023-24).#GoHabsGohttps://t.co/BWvQHUDocs
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) July 18, 2022
Montembeault was a waiver claim by Montreal ahead of the 2021-22 season, getting him from the Florida Panthers organization. With Carey Price’s injury and Cayden Primeau’s struggles at the NHL level, Montembeault ended up starting 30 games, by far the most of his NHL career.
From his time in the crease, he had an 8-18-6 record, a career-average .891 save percentage, and 0.09 goals saved above average per 60 minutes of five-on-five time.
Price’s status is once again up in the air this year, and we’ve been hearing reports of teams being interested in acquiring Jake Allen. The move to sign Montembeault ensures that the Canadiens will have at least one goaltender to play in the NHL next season, and should Allen remain, they can let Primeau build the confidence he gained from the AHL playoffs during another season with the Laval Rocket.
EDIT: Per Marc-Antoine Godin of The Athletic, the deal is worth one million dollars per year.
Le nouveau contrat de deux ans à sens unique qu’a signé Samuel Montembeault avec le Canadien est d’une valeur de 1 million $ par année.
The new two-year, one-way deal goalie Samuel Montembeault signed with the Canadiens is worth $1 million a year.
— Marc Antoine Godin (@MAGodin) July 18, 2022
