Cayden Primeau

[REV-G]

I have to admit I was fairly, and pleasantly, surprised by CP performance Thursday night against Vegas. For most of the game I thought he played extremely well. 

 

He did not have a lot of help and Vegas seemed to control most of the game with many high danger chances. You normally would not say that a goalie played well after letting in 6 goals, but it could easily have been a blow-out before the first period was over. 

 

At 24 he seems to be right at the point where many NHL goalies begin to establish themselves. He's had lots of experience in the AHL and a little in the NHL, but I have had thoughts lately that made me wonder if he was being fed to the wolves. He played against a very good New Jersey team and then his next start is against Vegas. They are certainly not protecting him and I have questioned why they're giving him those kind of starts.

 

Since we are at a point where one goalie is going to have to go, I wonder if trading Jake Allen and keeping the two younger guys is the way to go? Has CP earned a shot at playing a number of games so we can see where's he's at in his development? Due to the sample size of goalies blossoming a bit later I think we need to take a closer and longer look at what he can do now and not rely upon past years. 

 

For the entire first period I thought he looked very impressive and sharp. You could clearly see Vegas gaining momentum throughout the game and it seemed only a matter of time before they scored because they were getting so many quality scoring chances. 

 

If we saw a glimpse of what 24 year old CP is becoming maybe we shouldn't be too quick to trade him away.  Give him a more games to play over the next two months and let's see what we really have. If last night was the exception rather than the rule then proceed with giving him a fresh start somewhere else.  However we better be sure we know what we have before we make that move.  

[Commandant]

The Vegas performance was weird to me, cause yes he made some great saves, but also gave up 6 goals, three of which i think he really should have stopped.  That kind of inconsistency is why I don't think he's part of the 1a/1b tandem that we are building going forward.  I think if someone is willing to give us something of value for him, I'd move him. 

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

I think we should trade Allen regardless. He may actually have some value. Meanwhile there always seem to be stopgap G floating around if Primeau flounders. 

[huzer]

It's hard to judge when he gets ice so inconsistently. I haven't seen enough of him to say "wow". He does, however, seem more comfortable. I remember seeing him in warm ups in CO, and my wife actually commented on the "really nervous looking goalie".

 

I will say the shorty through his body last night was pretty weak. Neither goalie last night looked spectacular.

 

 

[DON]

Not a clue how he will turn out, just too bad he couldnt play in Laval.

Sometimes I find it hard to tell if weak defense hangs a goalie out to dry (other than the wraparound goal was on Primeau).

It appeared Vegas could of had 10 goals on tap ins, that they just missed pass or puck bounced and wouldnt of been Primeau's fault for wide open opponent standing there.

 

Most seem to think 3 goalie rotation wont last much longer, one way or another.

[dlbalr]

1 hour ago, huzer said:

It's hard to judge when he gets ice so inconsistently. I haven't seen enough of him to say "wow". He does, however, seem more comfortable. I remember seeing him in warm ups in CO, and my wife actually commented on the "really nervous looking goalie".

 

I've noticed that too.  He's not flopping around as much which is one of the big differences between his NHL and AHL play.

 

2 minutes ago, DON said:

Most seem to think 3 goalie rotation wont last much longer, one way or another.

 

I could see a Montembeault extension ending the rotation but I honestly wouldn't be shocked if this lasts for a while.  No one's playing well enough to create maximum trade value or to force their way into more starts.  Meanwhile, they haven't been bit by carrying three goalies (yet, at least) from a roster perspective.

[GHT120]

1 hour ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

I think we should trade Allen regardless. He may actually have some value. Meanwhile there always seem to be stopgap G floating around if Primeau flounders. 

With cap space being so important in the modern NHL, his cap hit being 3.85-4.33 times more than each of the other two is a hurdle in a cap-strapped NHL ... and I doubt they want to use up their final "retention" slot for this season, as well as their second of three for next season to trade him ... further, in addition to his 7-team NTC any trade will most likely necessitate taking back a similar AAV contract for at least this season ... and the better (or "less bad") the player coming back the less the value of any picks/prospects the aHbs might get.

[Sir_Boagalott]

I jokingly have to wonder who is the Habs mystery 3rd Goalie and should we care what he has done with Primeau?

 

Seriously, he looks so different it seems crazy.  Even in the preseason he looked so shaky and somewhat appeared like his career was over.  It was clear that he was not in a good place in regards to self-esteem, confidence, etc.  However, after his last 2 starts he looks like a completely different goalie.  Oddly, when the Habs 1st got Monty he didn't look overly good in his 1st few games, yet in a short time his play has grown a ton.

 

That is why I'd like to see more youngsters be brought up and given some games.  NHL experience develops players way more than AHL experience.  ex:  1 year of NHL play likely equals 2-3 years of AHL time.  i.e. if the Habs had been able to send Primeau down he'd probably be in that same bad place mentally.