Sam Montembeault

Samuel Montembeault (born October 30, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the third round, 77th overall, by the Florida Panthers in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

Junior
Montembeault first played junior hockey in his native Quebec, with the Trois-Rivières Estacades of the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League (QMAAA) from 2011 to 2013. Showing early promise as the starting goaltender with the Estacades, Montembeault was selected to the Second All-Star Team and collected the best goalie prospect award from the 2012–13 season. He was selected 40th overall by the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the 2013 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) Entry Draft.

After appearing in a career high 52 games with the Armada during his second season in the QMJHL in 2014–15, Montembeault was selected by the Florida Panthers in the third round, 77th overall, of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. In the following 2015–16 season, recorded a 17–19–8 record with a 2.63 goals against average, .901 save percentage with three shutouts. Leading the Armada in the post-season, Montembeault was named the Vaughn Canadian Hockey League Goaltender of the Week for the week ending April 3 after earning a 3–1 record, 2.27 goals against average and .933 save percentage during Blainville’s first round playoff series win against Val-d'Or Foreurs. Montembeault finished the postseason with a 2.45 goals against average, .925 save percentage and one shutout.

On May 11, 2016, Montembeault was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Florida Panthers. He returned for his final junior season in the QMJHL, establishing new career high with 2.40 goals against average and a .907 save percentage.

Florida Panthers
In his first professional season, Montembeault attended the Panthers' 2017 training camp, before being re-assigned to begin the 2017–18 season in the American Hockey League (AHL) with affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. He made his professional debut, making 25 saves for the Thunderbirds, in a 3–2 defeat to the Providence Bruins on October 13, 2017. He 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. With the Thunderbirds finishing well out of the playoffs, Montembeault finished with 13 wins through 41 games.

Montembeault was assigned to continue in the AHL with Springfield to begin the 2018–19 season. 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. 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.

Montreal Canadiens
On October 1, 2021, Montembeault was placed on waivers by the Panthers. The following day, he was claimed by the Montreal Canadiens. Montembeault made his debut for the team in a pre-season game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, where the Canadiens lost 6–2, but Montembeault was widely credited for a strong performance despite weak defending by the team. Following starting goaltender Carey Price's taking a leave of absence for mental health reasons, Montembeault temporarily became the primary backup goaltender to Jake Allen. On January 12, 2022, Allen was injured in a game against the Boston Bruins and subsequently announced to be out for at least two months, with Montembeault becoming the Canadiens' starting goaltender in the meantime. The Canadiens named him their player of the month for January, having become the first goaltender in team history to post two consecutives games with 48 saves or more. He earned his first NHL shutout win against the Buffalo Sabres on February 23, 2022. Upon Allen's return he played only sparingly, but after Allen's re-injury in early April he was again the team's starting goaltender, pending the return of Price. Following the conclusion of the season, Montembeault underwent wrist surgery.

On July 18, 2022, Montembeault was re-signed to a two-year, $2 million contract extension with the Canadiens. Beginning the 2022–23 season as Allen's backup, he was soon noted for markedly improved performance, particularly when evaluated by advanced statistics. A notable stretch of games in January saw an injury to Allen necessitate Montembeault taking over as starter again, playing eight straight games and recording a 4-4-0 record with a .930 save percentage in that span. The team's general manager, Kent Hughes, praised his performance and said "he still has a lot to experience as a goalie, but we see the potential. So Sam definitely isn’t going anywhere." Discussion of whether Montembeault should be treated as the team's main goaltender on a long-term basis began in sports media. Upon Allen's return, the two largely alternated starts on an equal basis. Montembeault finished second to team captain Nick Suzuki for the Molson Cup as team player of the year. Upon the conclusion of the season, he was given the chance to represent Canada internationally for the first time.

The Canadiens began the 2023–24 season with three goaltenders on the roster, as, in addition to Montembeault and Allen, prospect goaltender Cayden Primeau was no longer exempt from waivers and thus could not be sent down to the AHL's Laval Rocket without possibly being lost to another team. This precipitated discussions about one of the three being traded. Montembeault appeared in ten games in the first two months of the season, recording a 5-3-1 record and 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.

International play
Montembeault was named to Team Canada for the 2016 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, however, as the team's third goaltender, did not see tournament play. Seven years later, following the Canadiens not qualifying for the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, Montembeault accepted an invitation to join the national senior team at the 2023 IIHF World Championship. In his first international appearance, he recorded a shutout victory over Team Latvia. Montembeault started seven of the team's ten games, including all in the knockout rounds, posting a 1.42 goals against average and a .939 save percentage en route to Canada winning the championship.