montreal
Go Habs Go
"He had a great week of prep and was ready," Madigan said. "Sometimes when a goalie gives up a goal, it's obviously highlighted more than a forward or defenseman making a mistake. There's probably one or two that he would want back. But Cayden Primeau got us here. We're here in Providence, Rhode Island, because of Cayden Primeau. He gave us a chance."
Not All Who Squander Are Lost
Northeastern fans on some of the college boards were really pissed saying he wasn't focused on the game or that he had his worst game in his career because he knew he was leaving for the NHL. He certainly did not have a good game to say the least but he still had a great season.
Was talking to @ScrimmageandStats and he seems to be under the impression that Primeau coming in = bye bye McNiven. I just assume one will play in the ECHL so they could each get a bunch of starts.
I would think so as Primeau is much better then McNiven, that's why I wanted Primeau to stay one more year as McNiven wasn't given a fair shake last year and this year he's been playing his best hockey once Lindgren got injured and he actually started playing more then 3 games a month.
backup goalies are pretty easy to acquire
If Lindgren is bad, we could just give up a late pick for backup goalie during the season
I don't think he'll be worse then Niemi was this year, wonder why they let him suck so hard all year when we had a number of late picks to trade.
a few comments based on the reaction so far:
1) Don't appoint Primeau a number 1 NHL goalie just yet. If he continues his progression for a few more years then sure. Both Lindgren and McNiven were considered the same a couple years ago.
2) Backup NHL goalies are really easy to find in the offseason or even early next season if Lindgren doesn't rebound.
3) Who cares if McNiven loses his starter position in Laval. If another goalie plays better then they should play. Same with Primeau. There are no gifts in becoming an NHL player.
1) Primeau is far ahead of Lindgren at the same age. Primeau at 18 had one of the best seasons an 18 year old goalie has ever had, Lindgren wasn't even in the NCAA at 18. Lindgren at 18/19 was in the USHL putting up average numbers. Lindgren was never seen as a NHL starter imo, he was viewed as a NHL backup.
McNiven certainly is a better case for caution since he was CHL goalie of the year and looked the part at 19 but was handled very poorly imo at 20 as i hate to see 20 year olds sitting for long periods. In the off season he had some medical issue that was fixed and helped him lose a lot of weight I believe. He clearly is playing his best hockey but he still doesn't get consistent starts and it could be that Bouchard just doesn't trust him. Now McNiven being an undrafted goalie he was always going to be a long shot but the Habs were just smart as there's no way he doesn't get drafted in 2016 after getting passed over in 2015.
2) Yet the Habs let Niemi cost us the playoffs by keeping a terrible backup all year.
3) I wanted to see what McNiven could do as a starter after the way he was handled last year but now we'll have to see what happens. Primeau is one of our best prospects so I would think they will give him the nod. Will be very interesting to see how he does.