The Ottawa Senators will be looking to find some much-needed goaltending depth this summer.
The club has a solid starter in Linus Ullmark, but not much beyond that. James Reimer essentially saved the Sens’ season this year. But Reimer is 38 and may not be back next season.
And even if Reimer does return, would it be reasonable to expect him to carry the club again like he did this season?
That’s why the Senators could use some goaltending depth. One source could be teams with surplus netminders looking to clear up some cap space.
One team could be the Montreal Canadiens, as they potentially look to unload former starting goaltender Samuel Montembeault.
At one point, Montembeault looked like the Habs’ number-one goalie for a long while. However, he could not remain consistent, losing his starting role to Jakub Dobes this season. Then, the emergence of Jacob Fowler as a decent backup pretty much allowed the Canadiens to kick Montembeault to the curb.
Considering that Montembeault has one more year left on his current deal at $3.125 million, the acquisition cost for the former third-round pick from the 2015 NHL Draft should not be high. In fact, the Canadiens might be willing to pull the trigger for a mid-round draft pick or an AHL-level player, as long as the Sens take on Montembeault’s full cap hit.
Sure, this trade would be risky insofar as Montembeault proving he just doesn’t have it. But the good news is that it would be a one-year commitment.
What do the Senators do if Montembeault just doesn’t work out?
The question of Montembeault not working out has to be the biggest concern surrounding this idea.
If Montembeault just doesn’t work out in Ottawa, the Sens might not have much hope of trading him. So, the most logical move would be to put him on waivers. Given his cap hit, it’s unlikely anyone would claim him. If someone did, well, that would rid Ottawa of his cap hit.
But if Montembeault cleared, the Senators could bury most of his cap hit in the AHL. The Sens would save about $1.2 million of his $3.125 million. It wouldn’t be an ideal solution. But it would be the worst-case scenario.
What would happen if Montembeault did work out?
So, what would happen if this idea actually worked out? In that case, the Senators would have two solid goalies to team up. The club would not have to overly rely on Ullmark, potentially keeping his workload around 50 games.
In the meantime, the Senators could count on Montembeault to start about 30 games. That would be an ideal situation, considering that next season the schedule will expand to 84 games. Two extra games may not seem like a lot, but it certainly adds to the overall workload for goalies and teams.
Bringing in Montembeault would be a worthwhile experiment so long as the acquisition cost isn’t high. That’s unlikely, especially in light of his cap hit.
If things work out for Montembeault in Ottawa, the Senators could explore re-signing him at a more reasonable deal.
Add us as a preferred source on Google