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Canadiens Promote Young Players in Response to Goaltending Issues
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- Canadiens Promote Young Players in Response to Goaltending Issues
Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
The Montreal Canadiens made waves following their frustrating loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night.
The team announced the recall of three players from the Laval Rocket: forward Owen Beck, defenceman Adam Engstrom, and goaltender Jacob Fowler.
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It's not the first time either Engstrom or Beck make their way to Montreal, but Fowler's promotion was a significant decision, as it impacted the team's goaltending situation, which is certainly one of the biggest issues in 2025-26.
Fowler, 21, has played just 18 regular-season games in the AHL since turning pro, and though he has a sparkling .919 save percentage this season, the decision does seem to indicate that the team is running out of patience when it comes to the play of veteran Samuel Montembeault and rookie Jakub Dobes , who are both sporting a sub.900 save percentage.
Montreal Canadiens Goaltending Situation
Head coach Martin St-Louis quickly dispelled the notion that Fowler's call-up was a message from general manager Kent Hughes in regard to his netminders.
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"It's not a message from the GM," explained St-Louis. "It's a decision we took as an organization. It's not Kent deciding everything. We have a lot of good, young players in the AHL."
While it's true there's nothing abnormal about promoting young players from the AHL, St-Louis was obviously avoiding the main sticking point, which is that the team already has two goaltenders on the roster, and that Fowler's presence is clearly due to their struggles.
"It's a busy schedule," he said. "We wanted to see what Fowler could do at some point this year, to see where he was in his development. We'll see if he'll play. But I don't see it as sending a message. We're an organization with a lot of good, young players, and we want to know where they are. And we continue in our process of building a championship team. It's part of the process."
With all due respect to the coach, his explanation was difficult to swallow. You don't call up a young goaltender with almost no professional experience after a handful of games in the AHL just to see where he's at in his development.
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A quick metro ride to Laval would have answered that question.
Or, more logically, he could have asked the entire organization set-up in Laval that takes care of development.
It's encouraging that St-Louis does not see Fowler as a saviour, because he recognizes that the issues within his team go beyond goaltending, but I still have a hard time believing that the team simply wanted to evaluate his progression.
"We don't play well enough in front of our goalies at the moment," said St-Louis. "We have a lack of consistency from game to game, and during games. We need to improve that for our goalies. Fowler doesn't arrive as a saviour. Our collective game should put us in much better situations recently, and it's a thin line to win with that in place."
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As for how Dobes and Montembeault will react to the decision to promote Fowler, St-Louis was straight to the point, while also unwittingly unveiling another potential issue.
"They need to control what they're capable of controlling," he said. "They need to prepare for their next start."
It's a good line, however, given there are now three goalies in the mix, it's rather hard to prepare for the next start, especially since St-Louis does not know if or when Fowler will play.
In that vein, Fowler can't prepare for his next start.
But St-Louis was adamant that Fowler can learn from his NHL promotion, even if he doesn't play.
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"Experience. To see how quick the game moves," he said. "Just to participate in practice with NHL shots. You can't buy that experience."
New Forward Lines
St-Louis decided to run new forward lines, including the dismantling of his first line, the only functional combination in the lineup.
Zachary Bolduc was once again promoted to the top trio, while Juraj Slafkovsky was placed on the second line. Owen Beck anchored the third line, between Josh Anderson and Alexandre Texier , while Joe Veleno was used alongside Jared Davidson and Brendan Gallagher on the fourth line.
Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Zachary Bolduc
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Juraj Slafkovsky – Oliver Kapanen – Ivan Demidov
Josh Anderson – Owen Beck – Alexandre Texier
Jared Davidson – Joe Veleno – Brendan Gallagher
The Montreal Canadiens also announced Jake Evans would miss some time due to " personal reasons ", though it has been reported from multiple sources that Evans is in fact dealing with a foot injury, and is getting a second opinion as to the best course of action.
If Evans is indeed injured, there's a healthy chance (pardon the pun) that centre Owen Beck will be in Montreal for longer than a few games. You'll note that St-Louis used Beck higher in the lineup than Veleno, an indication that he's already considered a well-rounded player, and that he can possibly bring more to the table than his veteran counterpart.
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The defensive groups remained unchanged despite a need for a shakeup , though it should be noted that Engstrom practised on the second pairing, alongside Jayden Struble and Lane Hutson .
The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Thursday, facing the Penguins in Pittsburgh . The puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm ET.
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