Player Discussion Sam "Dikembe" Montembeault

[Tyson]

I mean he's been really good for the past 3 weeks . Nothing crazy to be talked about. He was putrid last season and not good at all early this season. Seems like a fluke more than anything. Also playing with 0 problem because Allen is injured and the team is expected to miss the playoffs is not a really hard position be in.

You are right , Montombeau starting in the playoff would be a Leaf thing or Oilers

He was really good in the early season. He slumped with the rest of the team in December.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

He was really good in the early season. He slumped with the rest of the team in December.

Still not good enough to be a 1B to begin with.

 

[Tyson]

Still not good enough to be a 1B to begin with.

Still developing. He has about 80 NHL games under his belt with at least 90% of them with some of the worst line ups you can put on the ice. The improvements from last year to this year are stark.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

Still developing. He has about 80 NHL games under his belt with at least 90% of them with some of the worst line ups you can put on the ice. The improvements from last year to this year are stark.

Let's be honest here. We know it's not happening xD

 

[Le Barron de HF]

I'll admit, he's been lights out this year. Goalies are voodoo so who knows maybe he can be a late bloomer a la Craig Anderson. Allen re-signing might have been premature with Montembault's progression. Hopefully market remains there.

 

[Tyson]

Let's be honest here. We know it's not happening xD

After last season I would have 100% agreed with you but he played on a horrible team all the while needing wrist surgery. This year he has really elevated his game. He isn't the next Price but all you need is a Keumper quality goalie to win the cup.

 

[Captain Mountain]

Per Moneypuck, Among regular goaltenders (starters or platoon) he's 10th in GSAA and and 5th in GSAA/60.

Considering how many people were pissed he was signed to a 2 year 2mil contract (despite the team rebuilding), he's a great example that goaltending can be voodoo and that goaltenders take a long time to develop.

He's also ruining the tank which is pretty annoying.

 

[Gravity]

Per Moneypuck, Among regular goaltenders (starters or platoon) he's 10th in GSAA and and 5th in GSAA/60.

Considering how many people were pissed he was signed to a 2 year 2mil contract (despite the team rebuilding), he's a great example that goaltending can be voodoo and that goaltenders take a long time to develop.

He's also ruining the tank which is pretty annoying.

Early in the season when the games mattered he was awful. Now we're out of a PO picture and the guy thinks he's Hasek.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Let's be honest here. We know it's not happening xD

2A could be the ideal spot for him if he continues to show promise. Basically what Allen was in his 20's.

I really like how Monty battled through the rough times last year. I would not peg him as a future solution but he could be a good back-up up for us for years to come.

 

[Tyson]

Early in the season when the games mattered he was awful. Now we're out of a PO picture and the guy thinks he's Hasek.

Go back and look at his first 10 games, you might be surprised

 

[Captain Mountain]

Early in the season when the games mattered he was awful. Now we're out of a PO picture and the guy thinks he's Hasek.

Huh? apart from part of December, Montembault has consistently been above average to great this season.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Early in the season when the games mattered he was awful. Now we're out of a PO picture and the guy thinks he's Hasek.

Are you talking about Monty? If so, he was not awful early in the season. In the 1st two months, he played 8 games with a 2.48 GAA and a .924 Sv%.

Give credit where it's due. Monty is working very hard at improving. He may never be a starter but he could be a very good 2A.

Go back and look at his first 10 games, you might be surprised

Agreed. Monty has been consistent all season so far.

 

[Lshap]

After last season I would have 100% agreed with you but he played on a horrible team all the while needing wrist surgery. This year he has really elevated his game. He isn't the next Price but all you need is a Keumper quality goalie to win the cup.

I'm slowly coming around to this opinion. I keep predicting Montembeault will fold under the mental & physical weight, but the kid keeps playing a solid game and rarely lets in those terrible goals he allowed last season. He's become a noticeably better goalie. Still a ways to go before we pencil him in as our future starter, but he's shouldered the role pretty damn well for this year, at least.

 

[Rapala]

Still not good enough to be a 1B to begin with.

His save percentage tells a completely different story. Once you factor in we are a bottom dweller and have given up a boatload of odd man rushes and breakaways Sam should get his due. Do you think he's done working on his mechanics because I don't. Look at where his is now compared to where he was initially. I for one will allow him more time with his progression before I say he can't be part of a 1A 1B solution.

 

[Apoplectic Habs Fan]

Great thing with Monty is he can play well for stretches but isnt generally consistent enough to steal too many games.

He is perfect situation for Montreal. Continue to lose majority but possibly maybe he becomes more consistent when MTL might be ready to become more of a playoff team

 

[Monsieur Miz]

We like getting excited about our goalies but he won't play more than 40 games this year.

He's still not on Halak's level who was never considered to be a #1. Even Cristobal Huet played more games than him.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Monty has played 21 games so far this season. He posted a .900 SV% or above in 14 of them. And out of those 14, he posted a .920 or higher in 12 of them. The ones where he posted under that was a game where he posted a .903 and another where he posted .917.

 

[donghabs98]

After last season I would have 100% agreed with you but he played on a horrible team all the while needing wrist surgery. This year he has really elevated his game. He isn't the next Price but all you need is a Keumper quality goalie to win the cup.

I agree. The way the game is going and the realities of roster building, you dont need a Price to win the cup. You need a solid #1 who plays behind a good offense and defensive group. We have seen the limitations of building from the net out. Its time to change that

Huh? apart from part of December, Montembault has consistently been above average to great this season.

Yeah I'm not sure where this narrative is forming. Asides from December when the whole team slumped, Monty has been good. Clearly he's quite hot right now but his October and November stats were good as well. I think he can top off as a 1B/2A which would be great development for a waiver wire pickup.

 

[Sorinth]

I'm one of Montys biggest fans but do you genuinely see him as being a starter on a playoff team in the future? A good backup alone is great.

I think the potential is there but whether he reaches it or not is anyone's guess.

 

[Habssince89]

Can you think of a tweener/good back up goalie that no one viewed as a starter that brought back a good return in a trade?

teams will always need goalies and if Monty becomes a known commodity teams will want him as a steady backup, especially if they're trying to make the playoffs. Doesn't mean he'll get a 1st, but I can see us getting something decent. And as far as I remember we got him off waivers, so a decent return is a W.

 

[26Mats]

teams will always need goalies and if Monty becomes a known commodity teams will want him as a steady backup, especially if they're trying to make the playoffs. Doesn't mean he'll get a 1st, but I can see us getting something decent. And as far as I remember we got him off waivers, so a decent return is a W.

Well Huhhes just said this week that he's not trading Monty.

And, Allen is a good backup. Not sure he'd trade him for the likely small return he'd garner. He might rather keep him as a solid backup to helppnty amd the kids develop in front of good goaltending.

 

[rik schau]

He was really good in the early season. He slumped with the rest of the team in December.

Found that he has been solid all season but the team in front of him took too many hikes and screwed him over in a manner of speaking.

 

[JianYang]

I agree. The way the game is going and the realities of roster building, you dont need a Price to win the cup. You need a solid #1 who plays behind a good offense and defensive group. We have seen the limitations of building from the net out. Its time to change that



Yeah I'm not sure where this narrative is forming. Asides from December when the whole team slumped, Monty has been good. Clearly he's quite hot right now but his October and November stats were good as well. I think he can top off as a 1B/2A which would be great development for a waiver wire pickup.

Agreed, I think Monty got rattled by that Canucks game where the Habs blew a 4-0 lead, but he seems to be back on track after that blip.

 

[nhlfan9191]

I agree. The way the game is going and the realities of roster building, you dont need a Price to win the cup. You need a solid #1 who plays behind a good offense and defensive group. We have seen the limitations of building from the net out. Its time to change that



Yeah I'm not sure where this narrative is forming. Asides from December when the whole team slumped, Monty has been good. Clearly he's quite hot right now but his October and November stats were good as well. I think he can top off as a 1B/2A which would be great development for a waiver wire pickup.

I think they clearly saw something in him last season despite the awful play. If you look at his usage right from the start of this season, it’s that of somebody who’s being carefully groomed with his start selection and work load. Not just a mortar like he was last year or Jake Allen has been this year. And early on it appears to be working out. I think it’s clear he can be a backup in this league which is still pretty good for a guy we got off waivers, but it will be interesting to see how he handles a real starters workload over an extended period of time. We still haven’t got there yet but his play behind this awful team has been really impressive.

 

[habstradamus]

I quite appreciate the contribution of Dikembe. To hope he becomes a sustainable difference making goalie is wishful thinking or speculative at best. I do not discount he could become a Devan Dubnyk 2.0. But like Dubnyk it will likely be a flash in the pan (2-4 year story).

However, Dikembe is a very attractive asset. Low cap hit, short term commitment, seems to be riding a wave (momentum) for aspiring teams against the cap with goaltending weakness or depth issues. I would seriously consider trading him for drafts picks in the future. These will become very valuable when the HABS become buyers at the TDL and aspirants to the SC.

In the meantime, I am willing to test and find out what we have in Primeau while creating space in the minors for prospects like Dobes and Dichow