Canadiens’ Sam Montembeault has a serious case to make Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off and Olympic teams

Credit: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports

Sam Montembeault’s 47-save shutout to open up the 2024-25 campaign turned quite a few heads.

But if you’re a fan of the Montreal Canadiens, you’ve seen it all before. You know how good he can be when the pressure starts mounting.

After parts of three years in a three-headed goalie conglomerate, Montembeault is finally Montreal’s No. 1 goalie for the first time in his career. That’s not probably what the Habs envisioned when they claimed him off waivers from Florida in 2021-22 after spending the previous year sharing the crease with long-time AHLer Spencer Martin.

Drafted 77th overall by Florida in 2015, there was a point in time where Montembeault looked like a future NHL starter. He had some good years with the QMJHL’s Blainville-Boisbriand, playing three years as the team’s starter. That’s not overly common for young goalies, but he was consistently one of the best in the QMJHL. He even served as Canada’s third-string keeper at the 2016 World Juniors.

But the pro game proved to be a different challenge. He made his NHL debut with the Panthers in 2018-19 and would go on to play two partial seasons, mostly as injury insurance. His numbers were typically the worst on the team and, eventually, the Panthers just ran out of space for him once Spencer Knight joined the fray.

Joining his hometown team has allowed Montembeault to make a name for himself. Depending on who you talk to, Montembeault entered the season as one of the most underrated goalies in the game. According to Evolving-Hockey, Montembeault’s 18.58 goals saved above expected was 10th in the NHL last year. He was 13th in 2022-23 with a 16.78 GSAx, making him one of the more consistent goaltenders over the past two years.

All that while primarily sharing the net with Jake Allen and Cayden Primeau. Now, it’s all Montembeault’s.

This year’s sample size is quite small, but he boasts a league-leading 6.59 GSAx through three games this year. But from an overall standpoint, if you watched him in recent years, he already looks more confident and aggressive in the crease – it’s his net now, and he doesn’t have to worry about a mistake keeping him out for a week or so.

The game against Pittsburgh on Monday ended a bit ugly, but Montreal simply got outplayed. Not much you can do when your defense gives up on you.

Montembeault is in the first of a three-year deal worth $3.15 million annually with the Canadiens. It’s easily the most lucrative of his career and the first to blast past the $1 million AAV that he had for the past two seasons. If he can stay hot, it could become one of the best value contracts for any starter in the NHL.

And the timing is good, too. The NHL will host the first-ever 4 Nations Face-Off in February, featuring best-on-best international competition for the first time since 2016. Unlike 2014, where former Canadiens star Carey Price was the clear choice, there isn’t a frontrunner to become Canada’s starting goaltender. In recent years, Adin Hill, Jordan Binnington, and Stuart Skinner have all put their hat in the ring, with Hill and Binnington both winning Stanley Cups in the past half-decade and Skinner helping the Oilers to Game 7 of the final last year. Hill and Binnington have also represented Canada in recent years, with the former serving as backup on the World Championship team that won gold back in 2021.

But of the three, Montembeault’s performance in 2023 was easily the most impressive. He went 6-1-0 with one shutout and a .939 save percentage, making him one of the best keepers in the tournament. Canada was the favorite to win gold from the get-go, but Montembeault had to do his fair bit of heavy lifting during his time in Latvia.

Hockey Canada takes note of that type of international loyalty. Many star players decline to play at the Worlds after the grind that is the NHL regular season. But Montembeault put his skills on display in front of crucial decision-makers such as GM Doug Armstrong, who’ll lead Canada at the Olympics in 2026 while also working with the management group for the 4 Nations tourney.

If we’re just going by GSAx, Jordan Binnington was the best Canadian goaltender with a 29.74 last year – good for second behind Connor Hellebuyck. Montembeault was the next-best Canadian. Skinner led the way at 18.4 in 2022-23, with Montembeault not far behind at 13.28. That’s consistency, and he’s done it on a team that hasn’t given him much support the past few years. GSAx isn’t the be-all, end-all of goalie evaluations, but it’s a stat that typically showcases the cream of the crop each year, and Montembeault has faired quite well in it during his tenure in Quebec.

The NHL will announce the four 4 Nations Face-Off rosters between Nov. 29 and Dec. 2 of this year. It’s not a long time to cement yourself as a favorite, but it is enough time to blow it completely. Canada might not have a great goalie crop this year, but they just need someone to show up and play their heart out for a little more than a week. Montembeault has shown plenty of times he can turn the jets on and pull off some incredible stretches – but so have all the others that look to be real threats. There’s also 2022 Stanley Cup champion Darcy Kuemper, who is off to a good start with Los Angeles making a case to make the team.

Sure, Canada’s goaltending will likely be its weak point over the next few years. That’ll happen when you’ve got Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid and Cale Makar stealing the show. There’s some good options in the pipeline coming up, but not soon enough to make a push before the 2030 Olympics, at the very least.

But Montembeault needs to be in the conversation for at least the 4 Nations Face-Off, and if he can keep the momentum going, they’ll be sending him a plane ticket to Italy in 15 months.

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Canadiens’ Sam Montembeault has a serious case to make Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off and Olympic teams

Article presented by Amazon Prime

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