Sam Montembeault

Florida Panthers

Montembeault first attended the Panthers' training camp in 2017, before reassignment to the American Hockey League (AHL) with affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. On October 13, 2017, he made 25 saves in a 3–2 defeat to the Providence Bruins, being his professional debut for the Thunderbirds.^[14] Montembeault collected his first win in his seventh outing, backstopping the Thunderbirds in a 5–3 decision over the Hartford Wolf Pack on November 3, 2017.^[15] With Springfield finishing well out of Calder Cup playoff contention, Montembeault compiled a total of 13 wins through 41 games during the 2017–18 season.^[16]

Montembeault was again re-assigned to continue in the AHL with Springfield to begin the 2018–19 season. He was selected to represent the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic.^[17] After 33 games with the Thunderbirds, having already matched his previous win totals, Montembeault received his first recall by the Panthers due to starting goaltender Roberto Luongo briefly leaving the team on bereavement in February 2019.^[18] In his second recall to the Panthers following an injury to backup James Reimer, Montembeault made his NHL debut in a 4–3 overtime defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida on March 2, 2019.^[19] He made another start against the Minnesota Wild the following week, giving up two goals in a 6–2 win.^[20] In his first five starts, Montembeault posted a 4–0–1 record.^[21] After making 35 saves in a 2–1 shootout loss to the New York Islanders, he was sent back down to Springfield. He finished the season playing 11 games, with a record of 4–3–2, a goals against average of 3.04 and a .894 save percentage.^[20]

His conclusion to the 2018–19 season was considered "very successful," with then-general manager Dale Tallon noting significant development in his play.^[20] On July 19, Montembeault re-signed to a one-year, two-way contract.^[22] Montembeault made his first start in the 2019–20 season on October 12, 2019, a 3–2 shootout loss against the New York Islanders.^[23] He started the season well, making 51 saves on 55 shots in his first two starts and posted a 1–0–1 record, however, he allowed five goals in each of his next three starts.^[24] On November 12, he replaced Sergei Bobrovsky after he was pulled, allowing four goals on 23 shots against the Boston Bruins. Montembeault stopped all shots he faced and the team rallied back to win 5–4 in a shootout.^[25] However, after giving up five goals against the Buffalo Sabres in a 5–2 loss on November 24, he was sent down to Springfield, posting a 3-2-1 record, a goals against average of 3.31 and a .889 save percentage, at that point of the season.^[24] He was recalled by the team in January 2020, to serve as a backup to Chris Driedger, after Bobrovsky sustain an injury during a team practice.^[24] He concluded the season with a 5–5–1 record, a goals against average of 3.34 and a .890 save percentage.^[21][26]

Montembeault did not played a single game for the Panthers in the 2020-21 NHL season and played for the Syracuse Crunch, finishing that AHL season with a 8–4–1 record, a goals against average of 2.86 and a .898 save percentage.^[21] In 25 games with the Panthers, he posted a 9–8–3 record, a goals against average of 3.20 and a .892 save percentage.^[27]

Montreal Canadiens

On October 1, 2021, Montembeault was placed on waivers by the Panthers whereas he was claimed by the Montreal Canadiens the following day.^[28] He made his Canadiens debut a few days later in a 6–2 preseason loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but was widely credited for a strong performance despite weak defending by the team.^[29] With starting goaltender Carey Price taking a leave of absence for mental health reasons, Montembeault became the primary backup goaltender to veteran Jake Allen.^[30] Following an injury to Allen on January 12, 2022 in a game against the Boston Bruins, Montembeault intermittently became the Canadiens' starting goaltender for a period of two months.^[31] Over the course of this run, he became the first goaltender in team history to post 48+ saves in two consecutives games^[32] and earned his first career NHL shutout win against the Buffalo Sabres on February 23.^[33] Upon Allen's return, Montembeault played only sparingly, however, after the former was re-injured in early April, he again became the team's starting goaltender.^[34] At the conclusion of the season, Montembeault underwent corrective wrist surgery.^[35] He finished the season posting an 8–18–6 record, a goals against average of 3.77, a .891 save percentage and one shutout.^[36]

On July 18, 2022, Montembeault was re-signed to a two-year, $2 million contract extension with the Canadiens.^[37] Beginning the 2022–23 season as Allen's backup, he was soon noted for markedly improved performance, particularly when evaluated by advanced statistics.^[38] After yet another injury to Allen in January 2023 necessitated Montembeault taking over the starter role, he appeared in eight straight games, posting a 4–4–0 record with a .930 save percentage in that span. Kent Hughes, the team's general manager, praised his play and said "he still has a lot to experience as a goalie, but we see the potential. So Sam definitely isn't going anywhere."^[39] Discussion then ensued amongst sports media of whether Montembeault should be treated as the team's main goaltender on a long-term basis.^[40] Upon Allen's return, the two largely alternated starts on an equal basis.^[41] Following the season, Montembeault finished second to captain Nick Suzuki for the Molson Cup honor as team player of the year.^[42]

With prospect goaltender Cayden Primeau no longer exempt from waivers entering the 2023–24 season, the Canadiens began play with a rotation of three goaltenders that included both Montembeault as well as Jake Allen.^[43] Montembeault appeared in ten games in the first two months of the season, going 5–3–1 and recording a .910 save percentage, before it was announced on December 1 that he had been re-signed to a three-year, $9.45 million contract.^[44] On January 6, 2024, Montembeault made 45 saves on 48 shots in a 4–3 shootout win against the New York Rangers. During that shootout, he made two critical saves; one against Mika Zibanejad and another against Alexis Lafrenière to secure the victory.^[45] He ultimately appeared in 41 total games, a new career high, with a 16-15-9 record and a .903 save percentage.^[46]

Heading into the 2024–25 season, Montembeault established himself as the team's starting goalie^[47] and had a 48-save shutout victory in the Canadiens' home opener against the Maple Leafs, setting an NHL record for the most saves in a season-opening shutout.^[48] He earned another shutout against the Edmonton Oilers on November 18, stopping 30 shots.^[49] He registered his third shutout on December 5, against the Nashville Predators, tying with Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets for most NHL shutouts of the season at that time.^[50] Thereafter, he would register his 17th win of the campaign on January 21, 2025, establishing a new career best over the course of a full season.^[51] However, prior to the 4 Nations Face-Off break, Montembeault lost four of his five starts, recording a 3.25 goals against average and a .883 save percentage during that stretch.^[52][53] He bounced back after the break, securing his fourth shutout of the season against the Carolina Hurricanes on February 25, making 20 saves.^[54] Montembeault continued to carry the workload, making consecutive starts down the stretch, as the team pushed to clinch playoff contention.^[55] On April 8, he made 35 saves on 36 shots, in a win against the Detroit Red Wings, a crucial win as the team built an eight-point cushion in the wild card race.^[56] On April 16, the Montreal Canadiens clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs, with Montembeault making 27 saves in a 4–2 victory against the Hurricanes.^[57] With a 31–24–7 record over 62 appearances and a .902 save percentage, he was again the team's Molson Cup runner-up behind Suzuki.^[58] He also recorded a 24.6 goals saved above expected, finishing fifth in the league in that category.^[59] Montembeault was credited with a key role in the Canadiens qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in four years.^[60] He started his first NHL playoff game on April 21, making 29 saves in a 3–2 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals.^[61] In the third game of the series, with the Canadiens and Capitals tied 2–2, he was forced to exit with an apparent injury, yielding the net to rookie Jakub Dobeš. Capitals starting goaltender Logan Thompson subsequently also departed due to injury, and the Canadiens would ultimately win the game 6–3.^[62] Montembeault would be sidelined for the remainder of the series, with later confirmation that he had torn two groin muscles which would not require surgical intervention.^[63]

After struggling at the onset of the 2025–26 season,^[64] Montembeault was reassigned to the Canadiens' AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, on December 16, 2025, for conditioning purposes.^[65] He was recalled to the roster with the resumption of league play after the Christmas holidays, and started his first game in almost a month on December 30, earning an overtime victory against the Panthers.^[66] Though he made a 36-save performance against the Winnipeg Jets on February 5,^[67] his difficulties continued, however, and after allowing five goals in an eventual shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks on March 6,^[68] he would not play again for the remainder of the season, with Dobeš and Jacob Fowler serving as the Canadiens' goaltending tandem instead.^[69] The season was considered a "difficult and disappointing" one for Montembeault.^[69] Reflecting on his poor performance, he admitted he "put too much pressure" on himself at the start of season.^[70] He was supposed to be the Canadiens' starting goalie and was considered for a spot on the men's Canada hockey team at the 2026 Winter Olympics, however, never lived up to those expectations.^[71][72] Montembeault finished the year with a 10–8–4 record and an .872 save percentage.^[69]