Frederik Andersen and the Edmonton Oilers didn't plan on needing another goaltender this summer, and then the offseason got in the way.
Andersen, 36, is now confirmed to miss training camp after getting hurt during offseason training, unsettling a crease that looked fine with Tristan Jarry and Devon Levi already in place.
That's where Samuel Montembeault and the Montreal Canadiens enter the picture, even though no real trade talks have been reported between the two clubs yet.
Analysts have simply noted that two teams now have problems that could line up conveniently, not that a deal is close.
Montembeault just went through a rough season, posting a .873 save percentage across 25 games, a real step down from a 62-game workload the year before at a much stronger clip.
Montreal's crease is already crowded behind him too. Jakub Dobes posted a .901 save percentage in 43 games, and Jacob Fowler managed .908 in 17 appearances.
Both come a lot cheaper than Montembeault's $3,150,000 cap hit, which only sharpens the question of whether Montreal actually needs to keep three goalies around.
Why the cap math makes retention the real sticking point
Montembeault is also in the final year of his deal, becoming a free agent in 2027, which lowers Edmonton's risk but limits what Montreal can realistically demand back.
Edmonton's own cap space sits at roughly $1,930,000, nowhere close to absorbing Montembeault's full hit without real salary coming back the other way.
Montreal retaining a meaningful chunk of that money is likely the only version of this trade that actually works financially for Edmonton.
Stan Bowman has downplayed urgency here, saying earlier this month that Edmonton already carries three goalies and insisting the team isn't panicking even after Andersen's injury.
That's not nothing, but it's also not the same as ruling this out completely if Andersen's recovery drags or Levi isn't ready for a bigger workload.
A contender built around Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl can't afford to bleed points early because of shaky goaltending depth.
Nothing here is close to done, but both sides now have real reasons to keep talking as camp gets closer.
Should the Oilers trade for Samuel Montembeault as goaltending insurance?
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