As a coach, my philosophy has always been to distract my team as little as possible and to control as many things as possible.
The fact that the Canadiens have three goaltenders is a distraction. I speak knowingly. I had the experience of a “ménage à trois” with José Théodore, Jeff Hackett and Mathieu Garon in the early 2000s.
The latter was in the same position as Cayden Primeau currently. Because he had to clear waivers before being traded to the American League, general manager André Savard did not want to risk losing him for nothing. I understood his hesitation, but I had to concentrate on my first two goalkeepers, the rest was not up to me. Besides, no one ever forced a choice on me: I was the one who made the decision.
The situation couldn’t stay like this forever. After a few weeks, Savard finally decided to take his chance and put Garon on waivers. His bet paid off: Garon went unclaimed, allowing him to continue his rise in the American League. He then had a successful career in the NHL.
I wish that for Primeau. It would be better for him if he continued his education in Laval.
Personally, I never liked the idea of a menage a trois. There is no way this will produce good results. It just doesn’t work. I don’t see anything positive in that.
I am convinced that Kent Hughes is aware of the precarious situation and is trying every means possible to resolve the matter. You shouldn’t pull the elastic band for too long. I understand that Hughes doesn’t want to let him go without something in return, but you have to think about the well-being of the young players. At the moment we are not helping anyone.
Montembeault is patient
I don’t know how Martin St-Louis works, I’m not in his shoes, but I hope the decision to use Primeau against the Devils wasn’t dictated by management. Personally, I wouldn’t have liked the organization’s decisions to be forced on me.
In my head, managers manage and trainers are there to coach. The general manager must help the coach and not put him in a difficult position. As a good soldier, I listened to the advice of my superiors, but the final decision was mine.
It’s nothing against Primeau, who fought well against the Devils, but it’s Samuel Montembeault who should have been in front of the net. Montembeault is also still young and has to play often. His last departure was on October 17th, it’s been too long.
Unlike his teammates, Montembeault, like the rest of the group, had no chance to recover after a difficult game against the Wild. Mentally it will be a big challenge for him. He must be really looking forward to the game, especially since he hasn’t seen much action in the preseason games.
Unfortunately, he won’t be able to play in the next meeting on Thursday against the Blue Jackets. St-Louis doesn’t have much of a choice when it comes to the return of Jake Allen, who has been in top form since the start of the season. You have to focus on performance and Allen put in another great performance in his last game on Saturday.
That’s why he was the one who was automatically against the Sabers on Monday. His solid performance helped the Habs secure an important win against an Atlantic Section rival.
It’s also a challenge for St-Louis, who must ensure all three goalkeepers stay sharp. It must be very difficult to deal with this. It’s a bad headache…
In short, the current situation is as damaging to Primeau as it is to Montembeault. It can’t stay like this all year round. A decision must be made as quickly as possible for the benefit of the two young goalkeepers… and at the same time for the future of CH.
