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Samuel Montembeault of the Montreal Canadiens.
The Montreal Canadiens have seemingly finished one of the quickest rebuilds in recent NHL memory, and after reaching the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals in 2026, the future looks incredibly bright.
Their young core consisting of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Lane Hutson, Ivan Demidov and others is one of the most impressive in the league, and with their average age being 25.8 years, they could be a top contender in the East for years to come. Perhaps the most overlooked part of this rebuild though has been the way the team have handled their goaltending, with the team adding two young goaltenders to a core that was already led by Samuel Montembeault.
GettySamuel Montembeault of the Montreal Canadiens.
At 29-years-old, Montembeault has been a key piece for the Canadiens over the tenure of their rebuild, posting a 3.24 GAA and an .897 save percentage across five seasons with the organization. However, since he arrived, Montreal have drafted both Jakub Dobes (No. 136 overall in 2020) and Jacob Fowler (No. 69 overall in 2023), and this past season, it was the former that established himself as the clear starter in Montreal, with the latter becoming a key backup.
While Montembeault started the 2025/26 campaign as the Canadiens No. 1, he allowed a career worst 3.43 GAA across his first 25 games, and as a result, the team pushed him down to the AHL’s Laval Rocket, where he settled back in well. With Dobes and Fowler expected to remain Montreal’s top duo in 2026/27, there’s been increased chatter about a potential trade of Montembeault, and early in the off-season, he’s reportedly drawing immense attention.
One team that is seemingly linked to every available goaltender is the Edmonton Oilers , and according to Maxime Truman , they are a team that’s expected to show interest in Montembeault this off-season.
🥅 Selon mes informations, les Oilers auraient un intérêt important envers Samuel Montembeault.
Attention : les Oilers ne sont pas les seuls à avoir appelé le CH pour Montembeault et ce dernier n’est pas le seul gardien sur leur radar.
Cependant, il y a clairement un chemin qui
This past season, the Oilers made the move to trade for Tristan Jarry, giving up Stuart Skinner and assets in the process, but after he failed miserably in Edmonton, the team are still looking for a true No. 1. That’s something that Montembeault has been in the past, as he posted a .902 save percentage and a 2.98 GAA over the past two seasons with Montreal before taking a major step back in 2025/26.
Given what the alternative is (running it back with Jarry and Connor Ingram), giving up assets for Montembeault would be a move that makes sense for the Oilers, and with the team needing to go all in for a Stanley Cup in what may be Connor McDavid’s last two years with the organization, they need to get aggressive now. Already this off-season, the team have been linked to Jacob Markstrom, who is reportedly available from the Devils, but in Montembeault, the team could land a 29-year-old that still has plenty of years left in him at the NHL level.
As Truman reports, the Oilers aren’t the only team expected to show interest in Montembeault, but with Montreal’s goaltending being locked in for the near future, it’s perhaps the most obvious move for Edmonton to make as they look to get back to the Stanley Cup Final.
Nathan Smith Nathan Smith is a writer with Heavy Sports covering the NHL and MLB. He brings a decade of experience covering sports in North America for digital platforms such as PFSN, Athlon Sports and FanSided. More about Nathan Smith
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