The surprise emergence of Jakub Dobes as an NHL-calibre goaltender will have an effect on the other goalies in the Canadiens organization.
There has been an immediate impact on Cayden Primeau. He started the season as Sam Montembeault’s backup, but struggled. When he was sent down to the Laval Rocket last month, he had a 2-3-1 record with a 4.70 goals-against average and an .876 save percentage.
The Canadiens still had faith in Primeau. When they called up Dobes on Dec. 27, the plan was to give the 23-year-old Czech some games while Primeau regained his confidence in Laval.
Primeau has done that. As the AHL heads into its all-star weekend, Primeau has a 7-0 record in Laval with a 1.83 GAA and .925 save percentage. Those are numbers that warrant a return to the big league, but Dobes has put up similar numbers in the NHL.
Dobes has been the talk of the town after making 34 saves in a 4-0 shutout win over the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in his NHL debut on Dec. 28. He won his first five starts before an overtime loss to the Devils last Saturday.
Dobes suffered his first regulation loss Thursday against Minnesota, but he has a 5-1-1 record with a 2.10 GAA and a .917 save percentage, numbers that would rank among the NHL leaders if he had played more games.
If Dobes continues to play well, Primeau has played his last game for the Canadiens. He becomes an unrestricted free agent this spring and the Canadiens would have to qualify him with an offer north of $1 million. That’s a lot for someone who would be a minor-league goaltender.
Primeau could be part of a future trade package, but that’s unlikely before the March 7 deadline because the Rocket needs him for a potential extended playoff run.
The Canadiens had high hopes for Primeau when they signed him to a three-year, one-way contract in 2022. They employed Primeau, Montembeault and Jake Allen in an unwieldy three-goaltender rotation last season because they feared Primeau would be claimed if they placed him on waivers.
Primeau was placed on waivers in December and the 31 other NHL teams passed on him. That was to be expected because of Primeau’s record this season and because waiver claims are rare in mid-season when rosters are set and a team is required to keep the claimed player on its roster.
Dobes’s success will also impact the Canadiens’ decision on what do with Jacob Fowler, who is having an outstanding sophomore season with No. 1-ranked Boston College.
One scenario would see Fowler stay in school for another year, spend the 2026-27 season in Laval and then join Dobes the following season after Montembeault wraps up his current contract.
The problem, albeit a good one, is that Fowler is dominating at the NCAA level with a 17-3-1 record, a 1.63 GAA and a .938 save percentage and appears ready to take the next step in his development.
Having Fowler in Laval next season would allow the Canadiens to determine whether he has what it takes to succeed in pro hockey, because success at the college level doesn’t always translate to success in the NHL.
Fowler is the favourite to win the Mike Richter Award, which goes to the top goaltender in U.S. college, after finishing as the runner-up last season to Minnesota’s Kyle McClellan.
Connor Hellebuyck, who is arguably the best goalie in the NHL today, was the inaugural winner in 2014. The only other Richter winners to become No. 1 goaltenders in the NHL are Boston’s Jeremy Swayman and Vancouver’s Thatcher Demko.
The list of 10 winners includes Primeau, who has played 55 NHL games since 2019, and Dollard’s Devon Levi, a two-time winner who has played 39 games over parts of three seasons while bouncing back and forth between the NHL and the AHL The other five winners have played a total of 10 NHL games and two of them are no longer playing hockey.
Fowler is also a nominee on the initial list for the Hobey Baker Award, which goes to the top player in U.S. college hockey. Another Canadiens prospect, Michigan centre Michael Hage, is also among the nominees.
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