no, I think he can be a solid 1b, but I don’t think he is consistent enough to be a 1a…
hope he proves me wrong though!
QcAntz
Almost, not sure yet, but if he keeps his numbers this year that’s for sure. He’ll get a much better contract next tine
lacoupe25
No! Not by a longshot. But good game today.
DrunkenRedittor
He has his chance to prove it. He has to take the job from Jake Allen.
ukrainianhab
For this year why the heck not.
sandysanBAR
My heart says yes My mind says no
He could be a very good 1a/1b.
Woullie_26
No lmao
Culcar18
I think I’d like to see his level of play once we get out of the rebuild and he has a competitive team surrounding him. Monty is a solid backup for sure. It remains to be seen If he can be our future starter but It’s obvious he can play well so I think maybe.
aftamat1986
He made something like130 saves and 8.goal allowed? in the last 4 game
RoiSoleilXIV14
Every goalie has streaks, it’ll take time to know if he can keep the consistent level of performance needed from a starter. In my mind he’s still a backup
NtBtFan
hes still not played enough over his career to see true consistency, so no.
Neither_Detail8608
Goalies take a while to develop, still too early to say. I hope so, I like his attitude
Cacounet14
Everyone in the comments is forgetting that he’s playing well behind a defence composed of like 4 rookies
Pale_Marionberry_355
On this team? Sure.
Or did you mean when they turn the corner back into competitive?
Because that would very likely be a no.
DeadlyChinchilla
He’s a great transitory goalie
In between now when we’re awful, he keeps game competitive and steals a few we shouldn’t win and later when he will probably lose his job to another more capable goalie and become a reliable backup if he wishes to stay with the team
squashthatfly
Yes
dcarsonturner
No, but for this year and this year only yes
OtisPan
I’ll tell you this time next year.
wrt7272
Absolutely NOT
Papercut6
no, he’s had a really good past 2 games and thats cool but overall performance shows hes not a full time #1 goalie
captmax75
.974 save average tonight and last night it was .946! Those are top goalie numbers Even more impressive with a bad team in front of him! He’s a keeper
discipleofbill
I would never take a goalie having a career year too seriously. Goalies are incredibly inconsistent. Essentially a crapshoot. The ones that aren’t usually end up in the HHOF.
InsignificantOtter13
With a proper team in front of him? Maybe… He’s been doing pretty well for someone with little professional experience.
Beautiful-Disaster60
Yea he’s a top 30 goalie and hasn’t reached full potential.
Ok-Measurement7298
Yes
maximus_96
No but he’ll do for this season.
mikegimik
No
FBR_MC
No
hackmastergeneral
I think he and Allen will split again next year.
Philly514
I’m starting to think that with a solid d-core he can be.
WBS_01976
As of right now, “No”. He may develop into one next season once their defensemen learn to play fundamentals.
eastcoasthabitant
No
cmorty07
He’s still young and has the size! Hopefully he grows with the team and can fill the #1 spot that we’re lacking with our goalie prospects!
Overall-Common653
I think he has been playing his heart out and the ones that got by ., his defense let him down and out to dry ..
Sensitive_Ladder2235
The stats say fuck no but the eye test says fuck yes.
Late bloomer but he’s really starting to rack up some hero points.
pushaper
He is a great back up but will never be a number 1.
strongcomp5
No
Sentenced2Burn
No, but he seems to have some potential and shows flashes of rocksteady play. However he also lays some total eggs out there (not counting the times that D leaves him out to dry as that’s not exactly his fault).
If there is a #1 starter in Sam Montembault somewhere it is attached to an anchor of rocky matrix that needs to be chipped away first. It may not be a longshot though and hes easily leagues better than Primeau who I’m pretty sure is going to spend his career in the A.
Major_Estimate_4193
Let’s all agree he is better than we previously gave him credit for. But our perception of him was always ahl-nhl replacement level goalie, never an asset.
Low_Pomegranate3742
I think so!
smallestdogs
If Monty was playing behind the bruins he would be putting up great numbers. I think he has the potential to be a starter, but I think the sample size isn’t big enough to determine he’s anything beyond a great backup goalie for now. He is definitely head and heels above Primeau
Olipod2002
It’s up to him to prove he can be one. I hope he will do it in a Habs uniform.
Exciting_Ad4264
No
flurry_fizz
For this season the only real issue I have with Monty being the starter is that I don’t think it’s doing his development any favors, *especially* with someone as far behind NHL-ready as Primeau backing him up. In terms of his skill and ability, though, he’s much better than his statistics would indicate IMO. There’s just no way to adjust hard data to account for something as subjective as playing in front of a wildly inexperienced D-core on a bottom feeder team with a first-year captain (and that’s not a knock on Suzuki, I’m just saying that I’m sure there’s a learning curve involved). TBH, it really makes me sad to see all the flack Monty catches from fans who expected the team to run out and drop another $10mil on a top-tier goalie in year 1 of a total rebuild.
defector-antal
If more constant, 100%.
GiantTourtiere
Never. He’s just a guy.
Unlikely-Strategy596
He reminds me of georgiev. Could be a starter on a great team. Late bloomer for sure.
Lurked4EverB4Joining
With the numbers he’s putting up with the young inexperienced defense squad that he has in front of him, I’d say yes
imhere8888
Up to him
I liked him when I first saw him start a while ago (perhaps it was two years ago?)
It immediately was obvious to me he has it and what it takes
Now, if he secures a number one spot for real going forward is entirely up to him
But he could if he wants it
jujuboy11
Is he a bona fide starter yet? No
Has he proven that he’s capable of solid play so far and shown he can at least be a backup/1B? Absolutely.
Will he ever be in the bona fide starter realm? If he keeps playing at this caliber thé thé remainder of the season and can replicate it next year then yes I believe so.
50 Comments
no, I think he can be a solid 1b, but I don’t think he is consistent enough to be a 1a…
hope he proves me wrong though!
Almost, not sure yet, but if he keeps his numbers this year that’s for sure. He’ll get a much better contract next tine
No! Not by a longshot. But good game today.
He has his chance to prove it. He has to take the job from Jake Allen.
For this year why the heck not.
My heart says yes
My mind says no
He could be a very good 1a/1b.
No lmao
I think I’d like to see his level of play once we get out of the rebuild and he has a competitive team surrounding him. Monty is a solid backup for sure. It remains to be seen If he can be our future starter but It’s obvious he can play well so I think maybe.
He made something like130 saves and 8.goal allowed? in the last 4 game
Every goalie has streaks, it’ll take time to know if he can keep the consistent level of performance needed from a starter. In my mind he’s still a backup
hes still not played enough over his career to see true consistency, so no.
Goalies take a while to develop, still too early to say. I hope so, I like his attitude
Everyone in the comments is forgetting that he’s playing well behind a defence composed of like 4 rookies
On this team? Sure.
Or did you mean when they turn the corner back into competitive?
Because that would very likely be a no.
He’s a great transitory goalie
In between now when we’re awful, he keeps game competitive and steals a few we shouldn’t win and later when he will probably lose his job to another more capable goalie and become a reliable backup if he wishes to stay with the team
Yes
No, but for this year and this year only yes
I’ll tell you this time next year.
Absolutely NOT
no, he’s had a really good past 2 games and thats cool but overall performance shows hes not a full time #1 goalie
.974 save average tonight and last night it was .946! Those are top goalie numbers Even more impressive with a bad team in front of him!
He’s a keeper
I would never take a goalie having a career year too seriously. Goalies are incredibly inconsistent. Essentially a crapshoot. The ones that aren’t usually end up in the HHOF.
With a proper team in front of him? Maybe… He’s been doing pretty well for someone with little professional experience.
Yea he’s a top 30 goalie and hasn’t reached full potential.
Yes
No but he’ll do for this season.
No
No
I think he and Allen will split again next year.
I’m starting to think that with a solid d-core he can be.
As of right now, “No”. He may develop into one next season once their defensemen learn to play fundamentals.
No
He’s still young and has the size! Hopefully he grows with the team and can fill the #1 spot that we’re lacking with our goalie prospects!
I think he has been playing his heart out and the ones that got by ., his defense let him down and out to dry ..
The stats say fuck no but the eye test says fuck yes.
Late bloomer but he’s really starting to rack up some hero points.
He is a great back up but will never be a number 1.
No
No, but he seems to have some potential and shows flashes of rocksteady play. However he also lays some total eggs out there (not counting the times that D leaves him out to dry as that’s not exactly his fault).
If there is a #1 starter in Sam Montembault somewhere it is attached to an anchor of rocky matrix that needs to be chipped away first. It may not be a longshot though and hes easily leagues better than Primeau who I’m pretty sure is going to spend his career in the A.
Let’s all agree he is better than we previously gave him credit for. But our perception of him was always ahl-nhl replacement level goalie, never an asset.
I think so!
If Monty was playing behind the bruins he would be putting up great numbers. I think he has the potential to be a starter, but I think the sample size isn’t big enough to determine he’s anything beyond a great backup goalie for now. He is definitely head and heels above Primeau
It’s up to him to prove he can be one. I hope he will do it in a Habs uniform.
No
For this season the only real issue I have with Monty being the starter is that I don’t think it’s doing his development any favors, *especially* with someone as far behind NHL-ready as Primeau backing him up. In terms of his skill and ability, though, he’s much better than his statistics would indicate IMO. There’s just no way to adjust hard data to account for something as subjective as playing in front of a wildly inexperienced D-core on a bottom feeder team with a first-year captain (and that’s not a knock on Suzuki, I’m just saying that I’m sure there’s a learning curve involved). TBH, it really makes me sad to see all the flack Monty catches from fans who expected the team to run out and drop another $10mil on a top-tier goalie in year 1 of a total rebuild.
If more constant, 100%.
Never. He’s just a guy.
He reminds me of georgiev. Could be a starter on a great team. Late bloomer for sure.
With the numbers he’s putting up with the young inexperienced defense squad that he has in front of him, I’d say yes
Up to him
I liked him when I first saw him start a while ago (perhaps it was two years ago?)
It immediately was obvious to me he has it and what it takes
Now, if he secures a number one spot for real going forward is entirely up to him
But he could if he wants it
Is he a bona fide starter yet? No
Has he proven that he’s capable of solid play so far and shown he can at least be a backup/1B? Absolutely.
Will he ever be in the bona fide starter realm? If he keeps playing at this caliber thé thé remainder of the season and can replicate it next year then yes I believe so.