Canadiens to waive Cayden Primeau; Jakub Dobes to make NHL debut against Panthers

The Montreal Canadiens are set to remodel between the pipes as head coach Martin St. Louis confirmed to Sportsnet’s Eric Engels that goaltender Cayden Primeau will be placed on waivers Saturday.

In a corresponding move, 23-year-old Jakub Dobes will make his NHL debut Saturday when the Canadiens face off against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.

Primeau has made 11 appearances with the Canadiens this season, coming up with a 2-3-1 record alongside an .836 save percentage and 4.70 goals-against average. Primeau played a career-high 23 games with Montreal a year ago, going 8-9-4. In all, Primeau has seen 55 career contests with the Canadiens in which he has found the win column 13 times. The 25-year-old Michigan native was originally selected by the Canadiens in the seventh round of the 2017 NHL Draft. Per PuckPedia, Primeau can become a restricted free agent in the offseason.

For Dobes, the Czech-born netminder is competing in his second season in North America where through 14 games this year with the AHL’s Laval Rocket, the Canadiens’ top minor-league affiliate, he has posted a 9-3-1 showing with a .910 save percentage and 2.44 goals-against average. Through part of two seasons with the Rocket, Dobes owns a 33-21-7 record with a .906 save percentage and 2.82 goals-against average.

A 2020 fifth-round selection by the Canadiens, Dobes spent two seasons with the NCAA’s Ohio State Buckeyes prior to joining the Rocket. Like Primeau, Dobes can become a restricted free agent at season’s end.

On the season, the rebuilding Canadiens sit 14-17-3 and seven points back of a playoff position in the Eastern Conference. However, the club has gone 6-4-0 since the return of offseason addition and star right winger Patrik Laine who has registered eight goals and one assist for nine points in his first 10 contests with the Canadiens.