At the end of the Montreal Canadiens’ training camp last season, Cayden Primeau was not sent to the Laval Rocket in the AHL, which had been his fate for the past four seasons. It wasn’t because he had earned his spot with the big club, but because he had to clear waivers to go to Laval. GM Kent Hughes explained to the media that given the level of interest other teams showed during the offseason, sending him away would have meant losing him.
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Last season
However, a trio of goalies isn’t ideal for an NHL team, and while Hughes wanted to address the situation and trade a goalie, he wasn’t ready to do so without a fight. The GM thought he had found the right trade partner, but Jake Allen refused to waive his no-trade clause to allow a move to the New Jersey Devils… until the trade deadline, that is.
With Allen gone, Primeau saw more action late in the season. He played in 23 games total, compiling an 8-9-4 record with a 2.99 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage. The league average SP was .900, and Primeau ranked in the 70th percentile. His high-danger save percentage was .883, well above the league average of .788, putting him better than 83 percent of his fellow netminders in that division.
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As a bonus, he also recorded his first career shutout against the Anaheim Ducks on February 13, being tested on just 13 shots. Less than a month later, he recorded his second with a 41-save performance against the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Bell Centre.
Officially the Backup
This season, Primeau has the edge when it comes to training camp. While the Canadiens management is reluctant to label their goalies, it’s clear that the seventh-round pick in 2017 training camp has already been signed (or even signed) as the team’s backup. After 51 games with the Rockets last season, Jakub Dobes will spend a second season in the AHL, along with recently signed 27-year-old Swiss professional goalie Connor Hughes. Top prospect Jacob Fowler will spend a second season guarding the net for Boston College, and Quentin Miller will presumably return to the QMJHL for a fourth season, this time with the Rimouski Oceanic.
It’s a defining moment for Primeau, as he enters the final year of the three-year contract he signed with the club for the 2022-2023 season. This year will be a game-changer for the youngster, who will need to make significant progress if he hopes to become a true number one in the NHL.
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The Canadiens lost 36 games by one goal last season (still a far cry from the league-worst San Jose Sharks, who failed 54 times under those circumstances), meaning just one more save could have led to a better outcome. In his 23 games last year, Primeau had a .900 SP and above in just 12 games. Consistent play will have to improve, especially if the Canadiens want to “stay in the mix longer,” as Hughes and Jeff Gorton noted in their post mortems last season.
What to expect
Expect a lot more action, for sure. His 23 games last season should pale in comparison to the number of games he’ll play this year. While Samuel Montembeault will handle the lion’s share of the workload, the days of Martin Brodeur playing 78 games in a season (no joke, Brodeur played 70+ games 11 times in his career, including ten consecutive seasons) are over. Last season, the league leader in games played was Juuse Saros, who played 64 games. Half of the first-choice goalies went 55+ games without a goal.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he plays 30 games or so in net this year, which should give Hughes plenty of time to decide what he wants to do with Primeau going forward. Some believed for a while that Primeau would be the Canadiens’ number one pick, but for a player selected 199th overall, even making it to the NHL is a major accomplishment. It’s looking increasingly likely that Fowler will be the chosen one, but even if that’s the case, the Canadiens still need someone to be his backup.
Like many goalies, Primeau seems to improve as he sees more action, and I expect that trend to continue. If his SP stays above .905 with an increased workload, he’ll have had a good season.
From eight wins last season, I think we’ll see a healthy increase, perhaps to around 12-13 wins if he gets to around 30 games behind the net. However, it will depend on how Martin St-Louis decides to use his goalies and what kind of matchups the 25-year-old gets.
Yesterday, Primeau was among the players who contributed to the GoFundMe campaign for Matthew Gaudreau’s widow and unborn child. Even though he’s not exactly making a lot of money yet, the goalie still donated $1,000 to the fund. Teammate Mike Matheson also chipped in, donating $1,321, presumably because Johnny wore number 13 and Matthew wore number 21.
Whatever your expectations of Primeau this year, chances are they will be lower than the expectations he had for himself in this important season for his future.
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