When Team Canada held its first practice ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament Monday at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard, goalie Samuel Montembeault had been bumped out of his regular spot in the Canadiens locker room.
Sitting in that spot was Vegas Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill, with Montembeault beside him.
“(Montembeault) said it used to be (Carey) Price’s spot, so a pretty cool spot,” Hill said. “I watched Price a lot growing up. He was special.”
The last time NHL players were involved in a best-on-best tournament was the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Heading into that tournament everyone knew Price would be Canada’s No. 1 goalie and he didn’t disappoint, posting a 5-0 record with a 1.40 goals-against average and a .957 save percentage as Canada won the tournament. It was the same thing at the 2014 Sochi Olympics when Price posted a 5-0 record with a 0.60 GAA and a .972 save percentage as Canada won the gold medal.
Heading into the 4 Nations Face-Off it was uncertain who the starting goalie would be for Team Canada and now we know it won’t be Hill or Montembeault. Instead, Jordan Binnington will get the call against Sweden in the opening game Wednesday at the Bell Centre (8 p.m., SN, TVA Sports).
“He’s a confident kid and he wants to be in that spot,” head coach Jon Cooper said about Binnington after Team Canada practised Tuesday at the Bell Centre. “This kid’s played in some huge moments and some big games. He’s a competitor, not that the other guys aren’t. These other guys are ready to go if anything happens. But Jordan’s been our guy. The kid’s got fire in the belly, he’s a competitor and we’re really confident in him.”
But goaltending remains a question mark for Canada heading into this tournament.
Binnington, a 31-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., has a Stanley Cup on his resumé from 2019 with the Blues, but has struggled this season with a 15-19-4 record, a 2.89 GAA and an .897 save percentage. Hill, a 28-year-old from Calgary, also has a Stanley Cup from 2023 with the Golden Knights. He has a 20-10-4 record this season, along with a 2.64 GAA and a .900 save percentage. Montembeault, a 28-year-old from Bécancour, has an 18-21-3 record with a 3.00 GAA and a .897 save percentage.
Hill will be Binnington’s backup against Sweden. There’s a good chance Montembeault won’t see any action in this tournament, but it will still be a great experience.
“I know I have to be more consistent,” Montembeault said after allowing four goals on 22 shots in Saturday’s 4-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils. “I know I can do better and I can be better. But I have the chance for the next two weeks to still go on the ice and still work out and try to get back and find my game. I’ll like to do that in practice with all the best players in the world. It’s going to be a good challenge and I want to take this time to really get my game back and come back strong after the break.”
Montembeault admitted he was nervous ahead of Monday’s practice.
“Even (Sunday) night, coming in to meet everybody, I was pretty nervous,” he said after Monday’s practice. “ Especially I was at the Bell Centre after the game with our team (a 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning). We watched the first quarter (of the Super Bowl) and then I went to the hotel. I showed up in the room by myself and had to introduce myself to everybody. It’s always impressive with all those guys, all those big names. It was pretty fun to watch the (Super Bowl) together.”
This will be a strange week for Montembeault, who lives near the Bell Centre with his fiancée, Daryanne Ayotte, but will be staying at Team Canada’s downtown hotel.
“At least I know if I forgot to pack something I can always go home and get it,” he said.
Montembeault is also using new Team Canada equipment. Montembeault’s family wasn’t rich, so he had used, mismatching goalie gear until he reached the midget Espoir level. He said having the Team Canada logo on his new pads is “pretty cool.”
“I never had so much colour on my pads,” he said. “I usually go a little bit more white. I don’t think Éric (Raymond, the Canadiens’ goalie coach) would like that. I know he wants goalies to have as much white as possible on the pads. We got a nice design, too, for my mask and got my dogs (French Bulldogs named Gucci and Gigi) on my back plate again, so love it.”
With such a short tournament, the net will be Binnington’s to keep or lose with Canada playing the United States Saturday night at the Bell Centre before wrapping up the round-robin portion of the tournament against Finland Monday afternoon in Boston. Binnington only found out Tuesday morning he would be the starting goalie.
“It’s time to go,” he said. “Just getting here and getting the nod is exciting.”