In 2017 the Montreal Canadiens selected goaltender Cayden Primeau in the seventh round of the NHL Draft. There have certainly been talks about Primeau being the successor to Carey Price, but Price’s career came to an abrupt end due to a lingering knee issue, which left the Habs with some choices to make, seeing that Primeau wasn’t quite ready to become an NHL starter. In 125 games with the Laval Rocket, Primeau has put up a 63-42-15 record with a 2.74 GAA, .909 SV%, and four shutouts in 123 games. The 23-year-old goaltender has seen time at the NHL level but hasn’t been given a shot to be the full-time starter for the Canadiens; in 21 games with Montreal, he’s struggled, putting up a record of 3-11-2 with a 4.38 GAA and .871 SV%. Primeau has two years left on his AHL deal.
During the Draft, the Montreal Canadiens went out and drafted three goaltenders (Jacob Fowler, Quentin Miller, and Yevgeni Volokhin), and recently went out and signed Strauss Mann and Zachary Emond both of which are capable at playing at the AHL level along with Jakob Dobes, who is expected to play for Laval this season which leaves a log jam in Laval which leaves the question where does Primeau fit in the Canandiens oraganazation now? Well one factor we haven’t looked into is where to the Canadiens currently stand, Montreal currently as Jake Allen and Samuel Montembeault as their NHL tandem, Allen, 32, has two years left on his current deal at 3.85 million per, and Montembeault, 26, has one year left at one million, the Habs will certaintly have some choices to make in the next year or two in goal.
What Can The Habs Do With Primeau
Now that we’ve established that it’s unlikely Primeau has a spot in the organization, the Habs have two options, trade Him or waive him. Primeau is only 23-year-old and has shown potential in the AHL, and one would like to think that there has to be a team that would be willing to take Primeau off the Canadiens hands in exchange for a draft pick at the very least. Regardless of how it happens a change of scenery for Primeau would do him well and give him a fresh start with a new organzation and a possibly a chance to prove himself in the next year or two at the NHL level. I expect the Habs to have made their decision on what to do with Primeau before the regular season begins in October.
