While the Canadiens are carrying three goalies following Friday’s recall of Jakub Dobes, that won’t be the case long. Following practice Friday, head coach Martin St. Louis told reporters, including Sportsnet’s Eric Engels, that Montreal will place goaltender Cayden Primeau on waivers on Saturday. The roster freeze doesn’t end until Saturday, so this move isn’t being made Friday.
Things were looking up for Primeau heading into the season. After playing in a three-goalie rotation for most of last season, Primeau secured the full-time second spot after Jake Allen was moved to New Jersey at the trade deadline. He finished up the season strong, putting up a .919 SV% in March and April, providing some optimism that he’d be ready for a full season of being a second-string option.
However, that hasn’t been the case, as Primeau has struggled mightily thus far in 2024-25. The 25-year-old has been limited to 11 appearances (four of which have come in relief), and he has posted a 4.70 GAA with a .836 SV%, ranking him last league-wide in both categories among netminders with more than one appearance this season. That resulted in the team being hesitant to play him as his last start came back on Dec. 1. With Samuel Montembeault only 13 games away from matching his career-high in appearances in a single season, carrying a backup they’re not comfortable using was unsustainable.
While Montreal was hesitant to waive him last season for fear he’d be claimed, they’re more confident he’ll pass through now, given his struggles so far.
The timing for those struggles is far from ideal for Primeau. He’s in the final season of a three-year deal with a $890K cap charge while also receiving a $1.1M one-way salary. As things stand, it’s hard to see the Canadiens (or another team if he’s claimed) offer him a seven-figure qualifying offer with arbitration rights this summer unless he can vastly turn things around in the second half of the season.
Since Primeau will not officially become available until Saturday, teams will have until 1 p.m. CT on Sunday to submit a claim for his services.
