Samuel Montembeault, the Montreal Canadiens, and the Goalie Debate That Will Never End (Apparently)

If you live anywhere near Montreal and casually mention hockey, there is roughly a 94% chance someone will immediately bring up Samuel Montembeault. please beware this vould be a very tender topic dempending on your target audience.

The real conversation is always the same:

“Is Montembeault actually the guy for the Montreal Canadiens… or are we just pretending?”

And as someone who has spent a significant amount of time listening to hockey conversations secondhand (the official role of every hockey fan wife), I can confidently say one thing:

No fan base debates a goalie quite like Montreal.

And Montembeault? Well… he’s currently the center of the most exhausting goalie debate this city has had since the days of Carey Price.

Samuel Montembeault

The Samuel Montembeault Experience™

Let’s start with the facts. Oh Gosh, I can see my husband's eyeballs twitching as he reads this. Because I know the loud ringing in his ear is causing him to only hear "GET HIM OUTTA HERE".

Samuel Montembeault arrived in Montreal quietly in 2021 after being claimed off waivers from the Florida Panthers. At the time, the move barely registered on the hockey radar.

Fast forward a few seasons and suddenly Montembeault has become the Canadiens’ most discussed player who isn’t actually scoring goals.

Because goaltending in Montreal isn’t just a position. It’s a psychological experiment.

Montembeault’s numbers have been… respectable.

For example, in recent seasons he has hovered around:

• .903–.910 save percentage (Don't come for me I used google)

• A goals-against average around 3.00

  
  

Which in a rebuilding team with defensive chaos happening nightly is honestly not terrible, so i've heard.

But here’s the problem, according to my trusty sources.

Younger Montreal Canadiens fans grew up watching Carey Price, and a few more vintage fans remember Patrick Roy which is like growing up driving a Ferrari and then being told the Honda Civic is “actually quite reliable.”

Technically true.

Emotionally devastating. Even a little embarassing.

“Monty couldn’t stop a beach ball some nights… but somehow he’ll rob a breakaway five minutes later. Explain that, tabarnak.”

• Overheard in line at a Montreal Puc

The Great Montreal Fan Divide

Right now, Canadiens fans fall into two very loud camps when it comes to Samuel Montembeault. And neither side is even remotely calm about it.

Team “Monty Is Actually Good, He Just Needs To Develop”

This group believes Montembeault is quietly doing an excellent job considering the circumstances.

Their arguments usually sound like this:

“The defense in front of him looks like a fire drill most nights, what do you want from him?”

Or:

“Give him a real blue line and you’ll see.”

They point out that Montembeault has stolen games the Canadiens absolutely had no business winning. Which is true.

Sometimes he looks like a real goaly, ooops slipped right out.

Team “He’s Not The Guy, Mon Ami”

Then there’s the other half of Montreal.

This group watches Montembeault play and sighs dramatically into their beer.

Their most common take:

“He’s fine… but fine is not how you win the Stanley Cup.”

And in fairness, Montreal has historically demanded something more from its goaltenders.

The standard here is borderline unreasonable.

Because once you’ve had Carey Price, every goalie after him feels like someone trying to sing Céline Dion at karaoke.

The Numbers vs The Vibes

What makes the Samuel Montembeault debate so exhausting is that the stats and the vibes tell completely different stories. Statistically?

That opinion is way over my pay grade but I've heard way to often "it's not like we are going on a cup run". My question is why the fuc$ should that be our yard stick in which we measure talemt? Serieux la, explain that to me.

But hockey fans do not live by spreadsheets.

They live by emotion.

And emotions in Montreal fluctuate wildly depending on what happened in the last eight minutes of hockey.

Example:

Montembeault makes 37 saves and steals a win.

Fans say:

“Monty is HIM. Sign him forever.”

Two nights later he lets in a soft goal from the blue line.

Suddenly:

“Ayoye… maybe we need another goalie.”

The Sports Radio Effect

Now add Montreal sports radio to the equation.

Every single morning someone calls in with the confidence of a professional goalie coach and says something like:

“I’m telling you, Montembeault doesn’t control rebounds properly.”

Sir.

You work in construction.

But sure, go off.

Another classic overheard call-in take:

“He’s good, but he’s not Carey Price.”

And honestly?

That sentence alone has probably been spoken 40 million times in Quebec since 2021.

Meanwhile Montembeault Is Just… Doing His Job

Through all this chaos, Samuel Montembeault himself seems remarkably calm.

Which is impressive considering Montreal fans treat goaltending like it’s a sacred civic responsibility. Some nights he is a hero.

The next night Twitter declares the team needs to draft three new goalies immediately.

It’s enough to make anyone say: “Ben voyons donc.”

The Real Truth Montreal Fans Don’t Want to Hear

We are never going to agree on what this team needs right now.

As I hear my husband talk about the rebuild, he also will throw in the occasional, we will be ready for the cup in the next two to three years.

After a great game, usually one that offered Dobes in nets, he seems teary eyed, emotional and say "you know what babe, I can see the cup here sooner than later. So I say let's all take a breath and hope to the goalie gods that Monty starts playing a little more like he wants to be here.

Final Thoughts from the Hockey Wife Section

From my completely unofficial third-party perspective, the Samuel Montembeault debate perfectly captures what it means to be a Montreal Canadiens fan.

It’s passionate.

It’s dramatic.

And it’s never calm.

Montembeault might win ten games in a row and fans will still argue about him.

He might have one bad night and suddenly someone on the internet suggests trading for three new goalies and a sports psychologist.

Because in Montreal, goaltending is not just a position.

It’s a city-wide emotional roller coaster.

So is Samuel Montembeault the future of the Canadiens?

Honestly?

I have no idea.

But one thing is absolutely guaranteed.

By tomorrow morning someone at a café in Montreal will slam their coffee down and declare:

“Montembeault est bon… mais tabarnak, il faut qu’il soit meilleur.”

And the debate will begin all over again. 🏒