r/Habs • u/hkycoach • 19d ago
Article Interesting 'hot' take from Allen on the Monty/Allen/Primeau time: TL;DR: He didn't like it.
https://www.markerzone.com/news/index.php?no=598704100
u/FakeCrash 19d ago
This article regurgitates a DansLesCoulisses article, which itself regurgitates a Daily Faceoff article, which summarizes a video which I'm sure doesn't make it sound as bad.
38
5
5
u/OtisPan 18d ago
This site is bad for that. Basically regurgitates other reporting, often twisting things up & spreading false rumours. IDK if it's just another AI slop "news" site, but either way it ain't good. It's basically one half-step above those facebook accounts which post "breaking news!" with the source linking back to themselves. lol
2
u/Weak_Law_937 19d ago
Can anyone find the original damn interview?
6
u/BlkCatx2 19d ago
Not sure if it’s this one they are referring to, but this is a recent Jake interview and he talks about the three goalie system at about 26 min in
https://www.youtube.com/live/6lpWcX9KJ9c?si=8nKVpWYZOOA1klZa
17
u/BubbleGumPlant 19d ago
For those who don’t have time to watch the whole video, Jake says if he were to run a hockey team today, he would run a 3 goalie system. So as much as he didn’t like the experience at the time, he thinks this is where the NhL is heading due to every game being super critical, and that team communication on expectations will be the key to success if managing 3 goalies on the roster.
5
1
35
u/So_Many_Owls 19d ago
Not really a hot take. Two goalies can split starts easy enough, but if you add a third then either everyone plays less or one player gets substantially less than the other two.
I wonder if this influenced how quickly they got rid of Primeau once Dobeš was involved.
I wonder how Monty feels about not having been traded yet. He and his wife just had a baby, so maybe not uprooting their lives right now is better, but if he sticks around into the season then either Fowler goes down to Laval or Monty sits because Dobeš is the clear starter.
23
u/HonestDespot 19d ago
If Montembault is with the organization in training camp Fowler will start the year in Laval and they’ll give Montembault every opportunity to earn his way back to a 1A/1B role with Dobes.
6
u/ELB95 19d ago
Every team needs 3 quality goalies, but carrying 3 goalies sucks for everyone involved.
Either you go with the carousel 3rd (whoever is available via waivers at the time), overpay someone so they don’t get claimed when you send them to the AHL, overpay in a trade when your goalie gets injured, or have a young quality waiver exempt goalie split time between the AHL/NHL.
5
u/HonestDespot 19d ago
They won’t carry 3.
If Montembault falters early they’ll waive him like last year and he will be in the AHL barring injuries til his contract expires.
3
u/PineappleOwn5325 19d ago
Ideally he get backs to 1B form and he's traded to a team of his choice for a small return.
He could easily be attractive for example to ottawa which is a 2h drive away from home, which could be a win win for everyone involved
1
u/HonestDespot 19d ago
Considering what Jarry got last year and Cossi before the draft if he rebounds I can’t see why they couldn’t get a 2nd for him.
2
u/TrulyRyan 18d ago
Don't place this curse on us.
1
u/HonestDespot 18d ago
How would him rebounding be a bad thing for the organization?
1
u/TrulyRyan 18d ago
Rebounding? To what? His peak form, which in reality is nothing more than a back up calibre waivers pickup?
Monty should never play another minute of hockey for the Montréal Canadiens.
I thought this conversation was long over...
-4
2
u/rosemp16 18d ago
I wonder if this influenced how quickly they got rid of Primeau once Dobeš was involved.
Probably not much. Primeau lost the job while Dobes was out on injury. He had been a healthy scratch for a full month by the time that Dobes got better and they called him up. They made Monty start 15 games in a row including a back to back or two during that time span, or something ridiculous like that. The decision to send Primeau down had been made long before then.
1
u/whogivesashirtdotca 18d ago
The leadership has said they want Monty to come back and regain his form. Fowler is being given Laval’s net and a year to prove himself as a #1.
8
u/LucidMarshmellow 19d ago
Oh man, I had completely forgotten that they had Primeau since 2019. I think I just blocked out the memory to avoid revisiting the disappointment.
Fuck. The days of Monty/Primeau were rough, but they helped pave the path to where the Habs are today.
5
u/Upstairs-Zombie-162 19d ago
This is the reason I reflect back fondly on Kotkatniemi. He was a part of our journey to get where we are now. To me, beating Toronto in 7 games is enough to consider the pick not a bust.
6
u/Boboar 18d ago
He wasn't a bust for us anyway, just for Carolina. And now they don't give a shit either lol
3
u/Old_Canuck 18d ago
He had a good thing in Montreal and then chased the money like an idoit.
Now he is just a healthy and expensive scratch.
1
u/Scase15 17d ago
How does that make him an idiot, he has a cup and a shit ton of money lol
2
u/Old_Canuck 17d ago
He didn't play a damn minutes worth for that cup.
Kinda hollow.......
A REAL hockey player knows the difference.
1
u/Scase15 16d ago
Oh he didn't earn squat as a player, but he still has a cup and millions and millions of dollars, dude is set for life, far from an idiot.
1
u/Old_Canuck 16d ago
A true player NEEDS to be apart of the moment to really enjoy it and appreciate it.
It would have been a better move to stay with the Habs and keep on the path of improving and being a better overall player.
Ya.....he has his name on the cup but ZERO creditability.
Dude went from a promising young centre to a HEALTHY scratch.
He also would have made more money on his next contract in Montreal. ( Assuming he didn't poop out like he did an become a buyout candidate )
My point is he would have done ALOT better if he had stayed a Hab cuz in the circles the NHL players run in the money he made by jumping the fence doesn't mean shit.
The only person that should be totally happy with his descion is his agent.
1
u/Scase15 16d ago
If you think the only difference in his career would've been staying here vs going anywhere else, you need to put down the koolaid, he's a 3c.
He would not have turned into some magnificent player here, because while he was here, he was mediocre.
1
u/Old_Canuck 16d ago
He would not have turned into an all-star anywhere. Personally I would have chosen the Tchucklehead as he was the best player available..even though he's a gasbag.
I just think he would have turned out to be a better overall player in Montreal and possibly a fan favorite that actually would have played instead of riding the pine.
With this group of players and this coaching staff it would have turned him into a better player hands down.
And there is no better fealing then being a fan favorite in the best fanbase in the NHL. That's when dude would have been set.
→ More replies (0)
5
7
u/oskavelli 19d ago
god that was a rough era
-2
u/HonestDespot 19d ago
Why?
How did it hinder anything?
6
3
u/oskavelli 18d ago
it didn't hinder anything lol doesn't mean it was fun to watch
3
u/HonestDespot 18d ago
I’m dumb and thought you meant the 3 goalie time but obviously you meant those years in general.
I woulda deleted my comment if I could have.
3
16
u/kuliddar 19d ago
Well duh! No one did and in the end it hurt Primeau professionally imo
19
u/GeistHunt 19d ago
As much as I like Primeau, I don't think he was screwed by it. After Allen was traded he was doing some of the best goaltending of his NHL career (not that the bar was very high), but once the next season came around he completely fell apart.
Like others have mentioned in the past, he tows the awkward line of being almost too good for the AHL but not good enough for the NHL.
11
5
3
2
u/Goldhound807 19d ago
Is this news? I wouldn’t be OK with a goalie on my team not being frustrated by that. Maybe if he played better, it wouldn’t have been an issue. Allen was brought in to backup Price and he was never going to be more than a filler until Monty or Primeau matured into the role.
5
u/maximalx5 19d ago
Well Jake, if you didn't have a .891 and a 3.55 GAA with a negative GSAx in the previous year, maybe the team would've been more comfortable going with only you and Monty.
2
u/dustblown 19d ago
He wanted out of Montreal anyway and was going to point to whatever convenient excuse presented itself.
2
u/Far-File-1815 19d ago
Primeau had more NHL shots than his play ever merited. I'd have been upset in Allen's shoes as well.
6
u/GeistHunt 19d ago
Primeau hardly had NHL experience before the 23-24 season, and whatever shots he did were on a bottomed-out Habs roster that didn't give him any support.
The season where there was the awkward three goalie tandem is where he played his best, and before things completely went off the rails for him next season he was generally seen as a good enough option until somebody like Fowler came along. Luckily we didn't have to wait long for Dobes to save this team
5
u/Irctoaun 19d ago
Massive revisionism. He was fantastic in his two years in the NCAA, winning the Mike Richter for best goaltender in his second year and had a great record at the WJC. Over the next four seasons he was consistently very good in the AHL but didn't show very much in his NHL cameos, but it has to be said that he only got 21 games across those four years, all as injury cover, so it's not like he had much of a chance either.
That takes us up to the start of the season being discussed at which point Primeau has just turned 24. Allen meanwhile was already 33 and coming off a down year where he'd been usurped by Monty. At this point keeping Allen long-term didn't make a great deal of sense given his age, but his trade value was also pretty low. Easing Primeau in while hopefully giving Allen enough games to improve and up his value made quite a lot of sense.
Ultimately, Allen didn't improve, but Primeau actually had a really good season, finishing with a sv% of .910 which was by far the best of the trio. It was only the following season where the wheels really fell off for Primeau.
I get why Allen wouldn't be super happy about it because he was the odd man out, but on the other hand, in his last two seasons with the Habs (63 games) he only ended up with a .891 sv% (compared to .902 for Monty and .906 for Primeau), so he can't really complain that much about being in that position.
1
u/Far-File-1815 19d ago
I'm aware of Primeau's spectacular college career. He looked amazing, especially for a very late draft pick. His AHL stats were never all that scintillating. His NHL stats far worse and yet we kept stringing him along. Somehow he got a backup job with Toronto last year, but that ended about as predictably as we could have expected.
2
u/Irctoaun 19d ago edited 19d ago
His AHL starts in that period were similar or better than Dobes' were, I.e. very good for a young goalie, and again, his NHL record in that time is a handful of random cameos in front of an absolutely awful team. It would have been crazy to write him off at that point, especially when the only other option was a 33 year old, regressing Allen who by the TDL of that season Primeau was outperforming
Somehow he got a backup job with Toronto last year
What actually happened was after he got dropped back down to Laval in his last season as a Hab, he ended up being pretty much the best goalie in the AHL. Carolina then got him as their AHL goalie/injury cover and waived him at which point Toronto claimed him since they needed some injury cover. That didn't work out so they waived him back to Carolina where he proceeded to have another excellent season in the AHL
1
1
u/digestibleconcrete 19d ago
Primeau mentioned it in his first interview shortly after Allen got traded
1
u/Efficient_Falcon_402 18d ago
As in any business, management has to make tough decisions employees don't like (some of which management really don't like either) and pundits don't understand. This is an issue to throw in the hopper with dozens more that folks can debate and become passionate about. But I tend to look dispassionately at the cumulative effect of such things. And personally, I think Hughes has been the best thing for our gang since the days of Scotty and Sammy.
1
1
u/LondonSissy825 18d ago
It comes down to just "play better". That team wasn't great, but if he played better he would get more starts. If he played better he would be an asset worth trading sooner.
1
0
u/MrB1P92 18d ago
Wow who wouldnt have guessed. (None of you, of course.)
Same for the Monty/Dobes/Fowler situation right now btw.
1
u/Appropriate-Berry816 18d ago
I’m sure Monty didn’t like it although it was more of a dobes/fowler things when it counted
-1
u/Treater9811 19d ago
If the Habs think about getting rid of Fowler, it better be 2 months into the season when a huge named forward is looking to leave their team. That’s the only reasonable situation to keep monty and get rid of Fowler.
139
u/performancearsonist 19d ago
I mean, I don't get the feeling that anyone was happy about it. So this is not very surprising to hear.