Canadiens Notes: Goaltending, HHOF Watch

One of Kent Hughes’ key summer priorities is resolving the Montreal Canadiens goaltending situation and deciding the plan for the next NHL season.

Meanwhile, Jakub Dobes finished the season as the starter and played a key role in Montreal’s run to the Eastern Conference Final. In fact, according to Moneypuck, he led the NHL in Goals Saved Above Expected with 13.3. As a result, he has earned the starter’s job to begin the 2026-27 season.

“The sky’s the limit. I want to do whatever I can to have the best career. I feel like this is just a beginning, and hopefully, I will continue to play like that next year too,” Dobes said on June 1.

On the other hand, Samuel Montembeault began the season in the starter’s role, and failed to keep it. He had multiple chances to regain the job but couldn’t line up strong starts.

“Compared to the previous three years, I wasn’t able to find that consistency even within the same game. I felt I played good games for the most part, like 54 or 55 minutes where I played very well, and that’s when I would give up a bad goal and hurt the team,” Montembeault said at the end of the season.

On Friday, TVA Sports reported that the Edmonton Oilers showed interest in acquiring Montembeault. The question remains whether the Canadiens want to trade Montembeault at any cost or if they’re willing to start the new season with Jacob Fowler in Laval.

“We have two young goalies here that are pretty good, they’re really good goalies. That’s above my pay grade. I don’t make those decisions. I just want to go back in the summer, work as hard as I can to be ready in September,” Montembeault commented on a potential trade.

Potential New HHOF Inductee

On Monday afternoon, the Hockey Hall of Fame (HHOF) will announce the 2026 inductees. The selection committee consists of 18 individuals, whose mandate is to nominate and elect candidates.

Canadiens alumni Carey Price enters his second year of eligibility after falling short of the required 75% last year. The 2025 class included retired NHL players Zdeno Chara, Duncan Keith, Alexander Mogilny, and Joe Thornton.

“I felt excitement leading up to the announcement, but at the end of the day, the Hall of Fame honours the players entering,” Price said last year during an interview with TVA Sports. “I’m excited for those guys that got the call.”

Patrice Bergeron, Phil Kessel, Eric Staal, and David Krejci headline the first‑year eligible class.