The Canadian could well end the season without solving his menage a trois in front of the net.

The Montreal club's general manager Kent Hughes admitted Monday morning that he would like to find a solution by the March 8 trade deadline. However, he suggested a scenario where Samuel Montembeault, Jake Allen and Cayden Primeau would share the job until the end of the campaign.

“We decided to keep all three goalies and then see if we could make a trade,” Hughes said during his midseason review. The plan was not to have three goalkeepers the entire season. That's not our plan yet. But that doesn't 100% mean we'll make a deal. »

Allen was tasked with facing the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night. He therefore received a 15^e Leaving this season. Primeau made nine starts.

Despite having a much better season than his two counterparts, Montembeault has only made 19 starts.

The 27-year-old Quebec native has been thrown into the fray a little more often since he signed a three-year, $9.45 million contract extension in early December. And since Dec. 31, he has been the starting goalie in five of the Habs' eight games, including Monday night against the Avalanche.

Although he doesn't dictate the decisions of head coach Martin St-Louis and goalkeeping coach Eric Raymond, Hughes admitted he asked for his three goalkeepers to play. We can therefore forget about a situation where Montembeault and Primeau share the job while Allen chews things out until the end of the season.

“I don’t want to give anyone a title because I want Sam to do his best every day,” Hughes said. At the moment Sam is playing confidently and more than the others. »

“But we want all three to play until one is traded.” They are all good goalkeepers and overall I think the play of our goalkeepers in the first half of the season was one of our strengths. »

More injuries

Hughes noted that injuries have once again derailed some plans, noting that the absences of Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook made it difficult for him to clearly assess where his team stands.

Before his game against the Avalanche, the Canadian had a record of 17-18-7 and 41 points. At the same time last season, he had 37 points for a 17-22-3 record.

“We wanted to avoid another injury-plagued season, and then we lost Dach in the first third of our second game of the season,” Hughes recalls. It complicates things and not just our chances of competing with the opponent every night. We're also wasting a year evaluating Dach and figuring out where his game stands. »

“In terms of our evaluation, we also have players taking on more important roles due to injuries, third-line players finding themselves in the second line,” he added.

Hughes still spoke of progress in his team's game, especially at five-on-five. However, he recognized that his players need to continue to improve in their zone and on special teams.

He highlighted the progress of striker Juraj Slafkovsky and the arrival of defender Jayden Struble, who quickly established himself as a reliable element despite his lack of experience in the professional ranks.

Hughes also commented on the declining performance of Cole Caufield, who only had 12 goals on the scoreboard after 42 games, having found the target 26 times in 46 games last season.

“Efficiency is 7%, compared to 16% last year. I looked recently and among the players who scored 11 or 12 goals there were 110^e for efficiency, Hughes said. The coaches will look into that with him. Is it bad luck? Is it the way he shoots?”

“But I wouldn’t say it’s disappointing or worrying,” he stressed. You always want a marker to score. But other than being a goalkeeper, scoring goals is probably the hardest thing to do from year to year or in the same season. »

Always the same vision

The names of Allen and forward Sean Monahan are among the first on the list of players expected to move by the trade deadline.

Hughes said his colleagues were patient for now, but added that he would not hesitate to move forward with a deal if the right offer came tomorrow.

“We are looking for players who can help us and yes, we want to improve offensively,” admitted Hughes. We have collected 22 tips for the next two drafts. Do I expect us to use all 22? In an ideal world, no. »

He recalled that he had already taken advantage of his surplus of defensemen and picks by trading Alexander Romanov and picks in the last two drafts to get Dach and Newhook.

However, Hughes said his plan will not change. He is in no rush to make deals to address short-term needs, and every decision will continue to be made based on the team's long-term future.

To watch in the video