Before the season, Kent Hughes said he did not want to carry three goalies at the same time. Since game four, the Canadiens have had three goalies on the roster again, even with Montembeault on injured reserve, just as they have in every season since he became general manager.

Hughes was named general manager in January 2022, and his first full season in charge was 2022-23. In each of the five seasons since, Montreal has carried three goaltenders. This year was supposed to break the pattern. A slow start for Jakub Dobes, an injury to Samuel Montembeault and the arrival of Jacob Fowler have put the team in the same spot once more.

Five Seasons, Three Goalies on the Roster Every Time

Here is every goalie the Canadiens have used under Hughes, with the games each one played.

Season	Goalies used (games played)	What happened
2022-23	Jake Allen 42, Samuel Montembeault 40, Cayden Primeau 3	Allen and Montembeault share the starts
2023-24	Montembeault 41, Primeau 23, Allen 21	Allen is traded to New Jersey on March 8, 2024
2024-25	Montembeault 62, Jakub Dobes 16, Primeau 11	Montembeault wins 31 games and the team makes the playoffs
2025-26	Dobes 43, Montembeault 25, Jacob Fowler 17	Dobes takes the job and Fowler arrives in December; Primeau had been traded to Carolina in the summer
2026-27	Dobes 4, Fowler 3, Montembeault 0	Montembeault is hurt and has not played; numbers are through seven games

How the Pattern Started

In 2022-23, Allen and Montembeault shared the work and Primeau was the third option. The next season Allen struggled, and Hughes traded him to New Jersey at the March 2024 deadline. That cleared room for Primeau, who played 23 games.

The following year brought a different headache. Primeau had played well in 2023-24, but in 2024-25 he struggled, with a .836 save percentage and a 4.70 goals-against average in 11 games, and he was not able to hold down the backup job. As I see it, he also could not be sent to the minors without being exposed to waivers, and Hughes did not want to lose him for nothing. Dobes was called up and played 16 games, Montembeault played 62, and the team once again carried three goalies. That summer, before this season started, Hughes traded Primeau to Carolina. That move is the reason this year was supposed to be different: Montembeault as the starter, Dobes as the backup and Fowler in Laval.

Last Season Told the Same Story

The plan did not survive 2025-26. Montembeault struggled for months and finished with a .872 save percentage in 25 games. Dobes took over the number one job and went 29-10-4, and the Canadiens called up Fowler in December. Head coach Martin St-Louis stayed patient with Montembeault for a long time, trusting three seasons of results and his 31-win year in 2024-25. By the end, the team was leaning on its two young goalies.

What Hughes Wanted This Time

Before this season, Hughes said he did not want three goalies at once. The plan was Montembeault and Dobes in Montreal and Fowler in Laval. It fell apart within days.

Dobes opened the season 1-2-1 with a 4.63 goals-against average. Montembeault left practice on Wednesday, October 7 with a lower-body injury and was ruled out 10 to 14 days. Fowler was called up from Laval and started three straight games, against Nashville, Detroit and Buffalo. He went 2-1-0 with a 1.91 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage. Hughes is squeezed by three goalies again.

Montembeault’s Return Creates a Squeeze

According to Arpon Basu of The Athletic, Montembeault could be back as early as Monday, October 19. Once everyone is healthy, the Canadiens do not have the roster space to keep three goalies, and Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen are still on injured reserve, so every spot matters. The same report expects Fowler to start Saturday against Buffalo and possibly Tuesday against San Jose.

The timeline is not settled. Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports crossed paths with the goalie and does not expect to see him back on the ice anytime soon. If Lavoie is right, the squeeze eases for now: Fowler keeps the backup role, Dobes gets more time to work on his game, and Hughes does not have to make a roster decision before the Chicago trip. If Basu is right, the decision arrives sooner than anyone planned.

Then the team heads to Chicago on Friday, October 23 to open a four-game road trip that includes the Heritage Classic in Winnipeg on Sunday, October 25. If Montembeault is back by then, and Kapanen and Demidov are as well, Montreal will have decisions to make.

The Team Is Fine. The Saves Are Not Coming.

The problem is not the group in front of the goalies. Since the 6-4 loss to Carolina on October 6, the Canadiens have taken 61.82% of the shot attempts at 5-on-5, second in the NHL over that stretch, and 63.97% of the expected goals, fourth, according to Natural Stat Trick. My own count from the NHL play-by-play matches the shot-attempt share: 204 for and 126 against over those four games. I made the same point in my article on why I am not panicking about this team.

The results have not followed because of two numbers. Over those four games, the Canadiens’ 5-on-5 shooting percentage is 6.32% and their save percentage is .879. Both should move back toward normal, but the save percentage is the one that needs a name attached to it. The Athletic sees Dobes as a better goalie than he has shown, and believes he has to find his game in practice because the team can no longer afford to let him play through it.

Less Patience This Time

Expectations are different from a year ago. Last season the Canadiens were hoping to make the playoffs, and Montembeault’s slump put that modest goal at risk before the team reacted. This year the goal is to win a division with very little margin for error, so there is less room to wait for a goalie to find his game.

My Take: Fowler Stays

Right now Fowler is the goalie who gives the Canadiens the best chance to win. I have no doubt he does not go back to Laval, and every win makes that decision easier. Hughes is always working the phones to improve his team, but this is not the goalie situation he described at the golf tournament before the season.

That is why three goalies is a real possibility again. If Montembeault takes longer to recover, or if Fowler keeps winning, Montreal may end up carrying three for a while. Hughes may not want it. History says he will probably live with it.