The Montreal Canadiens are rebuilding as if their reputation depends on it, because it truly does.
The Canadiens are still the team with the most Stanley Cup victories; however, it has also been a while since they last lifted the Cup. The last victory came in 1993, and while things may have been underwhelming for the Habs since then, this season is turning out to be anything but.
Notwithstanding the team’s exceptional run so far, as evidenced by its reign over the Atlantic Division with 18 points, the Canadiens have one pesky issue to address: goaltending.
Montreal Canadiens Goaltender Among the Worst in the League
It is truly jaw-dropping how the Canadiens have managed to play so exceptionally well despite the sorry state of their goaltending. Sam Montembeault has looked pretty shaky on the ice this season, prompting major concerns over the state of the crease.
The 29-year-old netminder is currently in the second year of his three-year, $9.45 million contract with the Habs and is proving to be an expense as the season progresses.
According to MoneyPuck, Montembeault is second, only behind Linus Ullmark, in the unfortunate list of the league’s worst goalies so far this season.
Montembeault leaked 22 goals, which was higher than the expected 14.41. It is a drastic difference, and a particularly worrying piece of data for the Habs and the netminder, whose future with the team could be plunged into doubt if things don’t take a turn for the better.
Over the last few games, the 29-year-old’s save percentage has been unremarkable.
Against the Ottawa Senators, he had a save percentage of .824. Against the Edmonton Oilers, Montembeault’s save percentage dipped to .793. In the Habs’ showdown against the Oilers on October 23, Edmonton scored three straight goals in the third period, cruising past the Canadiens.
Against the New York Rangers and the Seattle Kraken, the goalie had the same save percentage of .818.
Over the last two seasons, the Habs goalie registered a steady save percentage above .900, but 2025-26 is turning out to be a prolonged spell of bad luck for the 29-year-old.
Montembeault’s inclusion in a list of the worst goalies does little to improve his image, with a social media user commenting that they are surprised the Habs netminder is not number one on the list.
Surely, the Habs’ plans of rebuilding will come crashing to the ground if Montembeault does not improve his game. It could so happen that the Canadiens get awfully close to lifting the Stanley Cup but fail to do so because of poor goaltending, in what would be a repeat of what happened with the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final.