This means there will no longer be a three-goalie rotation like last year, with Jake Allen in the mix.
That said, we all agree that Montembeault should be the organization's number one goalie throughout the season, even though some experts still doubt that the Quebec goaltender is a true NHL-caliber number one.
But it seems we might have an answer to this question via The Hockey News.
As reported by Danslescoulisses, the experts there have done several rankings to determine which NHL teams have a true number one center, a true number one defenseman, and a true number one goaltender... You get the idea.
When it came time to analyze the Canadiens regarding goaltenders, THN concluded that Samuel Montembeault is among the teams with "maybe" a number one goaltender, as he is starting to be recognized across the NHL.
Notably, there are seven other goalies in this category.
Here they are:
If we look at the category just below, which is "teams that have two goaltenders who should compete for the number one role," we find five teams:
We can therefore come to a positive conclusion that Samuel Montembeault is now recognized as a number one goaltender in the NHL, and it will be interesting to see how many games Martin St-Louis trusts him with next season.
By the way, if you want to read the full article, click HERE.
Credit: DansLesCoulisses
Classement des gardiens de THN : le Canadien a « peut-être » un gardien numéro un
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JUILLET 29 | 594 ANSWERS Unexpected surprise for Samuel Montembeault: the Canadiens should be happy How many starts do you think Samuel Montembeault will get this season? | ||
More than 50 | 263 | 44.3 % |
Less than 50 | 331 | 55.7 % |
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