With three goalies at the NHL level, the Montreal Canadiens’ crease is a little bit crowded at the moment.
While Jake Allen and Samuel Montembeault seem to be splitting games like last season, young netminder Cayden Primeau has yet to see any action. And with the likelihood of the 24-year-old being claimed on waivers, the Habs don’t want to risk sending him down to the Laval Rocket and potentially losing him for nothing.
As a result, the Canadiens find themselves in a catch-22 — and a trade may be the only solution.
The return on the NHL’s goalie market may be a little underwhelming, but the following teams would pick up the phone if Montreal came calling with an offer.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning have one of the best goalies in the game: Andrei Vasilevskiy. And no one needs to remind the Canadiens of that.
Their problem? He’s dealing with an injury that will likely keep him off the ice for the first two months of the season.
Vasilevskiy’s absence leaves Tampa with Jonas Johansson, Matt Tomkins and Hugo Alnefelt between the pipes, which simply doesn’t cut it at the NHL level, especially in an Atlantic Division packed with talent.
In this case, Primeau’s low cap hit of $890,000 would provide the Bolts with a budget-friendly solution.
Columbus Blue Jackets
With a tandem of Elvis Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov, the Columbus Blue Jackets have one of the NHL’s weakest goaltending duos on paper.
And with elite players like Patrik Laine, Johnny Gaudreau, and Adam Fantilli on the other end of their lineup, an upgrade in net might be just what they’re looking for.
If they’re willing to offer Montreal a good enough asset for either Primeau or Allen, there may be a deal on the table.
San Jose Sharks
It’s no secret that the San Jose Sharks are rebuilding.
Their current goalie tandem of Kaapo Kahkonen and Mackenzie Blackwood is indicative of that.
At 24, Primeau is a couple of years younger than both their netminders, and would theoretically be a better fit for the window they expect to become competitive in.
Meanwhile, prospects like Magnus Chrona and Georgi Romanov are only slightly younger than Primeau and have yet to prove themselves at the AHL level.
Philadelphia Flyers
The Canadiens sending Primeau to Philly would work for multiple reasons.
Firstly, there is a strong possibility that the rebuilding Flyers trade starting goalie Carter Hart to another team for picks and prospects. Someone like Primeau could be an inexpensive substitute in the short or long term.
Secondly, his father, Keith, captained the team for more than three seasons in the early 2000s, which would likely help get the fan base on his side right out of the gate.
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