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Canadiens Trade Talk: Evaluating Potential Goalie Targets
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- Canadiens Trade Talk: Evaluating Potential Goalie Targets
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
It's no secret that the Montreal Canadiens have received less-than-stellar netminding this season, a situation that has led to some suggesting the team should acquire a goaltender prior to the NHL Trade Deadline.
It's a logical approach, as the Habs could improve the team by trading for a goaltender who can perform better than Samuel Montembeault .
However, the two names being mentioned as possible upgrades for the Canadiens, Jordan Binnington (32) and Sergei Bobrovsky (37), are far from their statistical primes.
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In fact, Montembeault, 29, is significantly younger than bother netminders. That's not to say the Canadiens cannot acquire a goaltender older than 29, but if they do, they must ensure the player in question can potentially offer better results than Montembeault.
Montreal Canadiens Goaltending Trade Targets
Before we delve into the numbers, it must be noted that Binnington and Bobrovsky have won a Stanley Cup in the past, and there's something to be said about providing the youngest team in the league with important experience.
However, the goaltenders in question are no longer in Stanley Cup shape, as evidenced by their numbers, which are, to be perfectly frank, awful.
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To get a better idea, we'll take a look at four different metrics at 5v5: save percentage (SV%), goals saved above average per 60 (GSAA/60), high-danger save percentage (HDSV%), and high-danger goals saved above average per 60 (HDGSAA/60).
We filtered the results to at least 1000 minutes played at 5v5 this season, giving us a grand total of 49 goaltenders.
As you can see in the table embedded above, Montembeault is near the bottom of the league in all four metrics.
And yet, he's still managed to produce better numbers than both Binnington and Bobrovsky. They're ranked dead last, or close, in most categories, a good reminder that the grass is not always greener.
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You could argue it's not a fair comparison, as the Montreal Candiens are a better team than the Florida Panthers and St. Louis Blues , but that would be ignoring the fact that the Canadiens rank below both teams in high-danger shot share (46.3%).
In other words, the Canadiens bleed high-danger chances, making life very difficult on their netminders. Every night features a dozen or so odd-man rushes, not to mention a few instances of confused defensive coverage.
Simply put, the idea of acquiring either Jordan Binnington or Sergei Bobrovsky makes little to no sense for the Montreal Canadiens, as they would be unlikely to outplay Montembeault, not to mention Jakub Dobes .
And then there's the matter of clearing cap space for the netminders with worse numbers than second-best Habs goalie.
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All things considered, pulling off this type of deal would fly in the face of the smart, thorough work done by Kent Hughes and Company since they took over the reins in Montreal.
All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick .
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