G Cayden Primeau (2017, 199th, MTL)

Kudo Shinichi

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I still dont fully understand why we traded him to the Oilers for a 5th round pick. He was incredible value for a 6th rounder. He must have said we was not going to sign with the Habs or something.

5th rounder for Hawkey is a great deal for us. Kinkaid got traded for a 5th round pick at the tdl and he's an established nhl goaltender
 
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greasysnapper

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Those guys have kept their jobs, but they are generally not nearly as good as they were a couple years ago and many of them are only 2-3 years older than Price, so not really examples for how Price might look on the back half of his deal. Statistically save percentage goes down on average over a goalie's 30s. I would say Luongo was the only one of those goalies who was consistently good over his 30s. Maybe Rinne. And both had their share of starts go down between 35 and 37.

If Primeau looks like an NHL starter in 2 to 4 years I'd expect the Habs to give him a decent share of starts. Especially with how they're already limiting Price's practice shot load to preserve him - it shows they're already wary of Price getting tired/injured.

You hit the nail on the head and proved my point, "THOSE GUYS HAVE KEPT THEIR JOBS".

Remember Tokarski? Remember Gillies? Remember 100's of promising goalies that never take the jobs of these select few, even though their older, and not as great as they once were. Notice how Zane McIntyre hasn't dethroned Rask or even Halak and we're 3 years post NCAA, where he won the Richter and posted very similar number in his final year. Or Jalliet looks average in the AHL...

Primeau looks like a promising prospect, no doubt, and he has -some- tools I think that better than a Jalliet as an example, but I don't necessarily see him as a shoe in, even if he looks solid in the AHL, Carey Price is a very good goalie, and the way he plays I expect him to be very difficult to dethrone. It was as early as last year where people thought he was done given his age and play, and he's turned in a season where I think he gets MVP votes. If Primeau gets a decent share of starts in 2-4 years I'll honestly be surprised.
 

montreal

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You hit the nail on the head and proved my point, "THOSE GUYS HAVE KEPT THEIR JOBS".

Remember Tokarski? Remember Gillies? Remember 100's of promising goalies that never take the jobs of these select few, even though their older, and not as great as they once were. Notice how Zane McIntyre hasn't dethroned Rask or even Halak and we're 3 years post NCAA, where he won the Richter and posted very similar number in his final year. Or Jalliet looks average in the AHL...

Primeau looks like a promising prospect, no doubt, and he has -some- tools I think that better than a Jalliet as an example, but I don't necessarily see him as a shoe in, even if he looks solid in the AHL, Carey Price is a very good goalie, and the way he plays I expect him to be very difficult to dethrone. It was as early as last year where people thought he was done given his age and play, and he's turned in a season where I think he gets MVP votes. If Primeau gets a decent share of starts in 2-4 years I'll honestly be surprised.

it's certainly a good and fair point. The Habs this year got stuck in a bad spot in the goalie position due to not having a good backup as Niemi was terrible much of the time and their 3rd string goalie got injured and hasn't looked as sharp since returning. With the Habs in or near a playoff spot all year they were forced to play Price more then they should have and now he's looking to be at 68 games which is the 2nd highest of his career and the last time he played more then this was in the '10-'11 season.

So as he gets older they should be looking to have a solid backup that can take some of the load off Price while learning from him. Primeau is in a great spot to do that, if he plays one more year in the NCAA and then gets 2 or 3 in the AHL depending of course on how he does. He could then be Price's backup for say 2 years with a bigger role in year 2. That would go to the last year or two of Price's contract and the Habs would likely know by then if they think Primeau is the answer or not or if Price holds up his level of play then they'll trade Primeau at some point.
 
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Deficient Mode

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You hit the nail on the head and proved my point, "THOSE GUYS HAVE KEPT THEIR JOBS".

Remember Tokarski? Remember Gillies? Remember 100's of promising goalies that never take the jobs of these select few, even though their older, and not as great as they once were. Notice how Zane McIntyre hasn't dethroned Rask or even Halak and we're 3 years post NCAA, where he won the Richter and posted very similar number in his final year. Or Jalliet looks average in the AHL...

Primeau looks like a promising prospect, no doubt, and he has -some- tools I think that better than a Jalliet as an example, but I don't necessarily see him as a shoe in, even if he looks solid in the AHL, Carey Price is a very good goalie, and the way he plays I expect him to be very difficult to dethrone. It was as early as last year where people thought he was done given his age and play, and he's turned in a season where I think he gets MVP votes. If Primeau gets a decent share of starts in 2-4 years I'll honestly be surprised.

I presumed your original point was that there wasn't much "drop off" in the quality of their play, not in their responsibility. The latter probably has as much to do with what Trevor Timmins mentioned about the selection of Primeau: teams with starters with long-term contracts are unwilling to spend even mid-round draft picks on goalies who could become starters when they have other more urgent needs. As for the quality of their play, well, there definitely is on average a drop off in goaltender results on average over their 30s, and the goaltenders you mentioned generally experienced it as well. You can read about it here: How well do goalies age? A look at a goalie aging curve.

I never said Primeau is a shoe-in to be a starter or even close to that. In fact it's still more likely that he doesn't. Rather that if he's good enough he will slowly get his share of starts, and Price's long-term presence in Montreal isn't an obstacle to Primeau signing in Montreal, as some were speculating earlier in the thread. The likelihood that he won't become an above average NHL goalie and needs a lot of work to get there is just another reason why this isn't really an issue.
 
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greasysnapper

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I presumed your original point was that there wasn't much "drop off" in the quality of their play, not in their responsibility. The latter probably has as much to do with what Trevor Timmins mentioned about the selection of Primeau: teams with starters with long-term contracts are unwilling to spend even mid-round draft picks on goalies who could become starters when they have other more urgent needs. As for the quality of their play, well, there definitely is on average a drop off in goaltender results on average over their 30s, and the goaltenders you mentioned generally experienced it as well. You can read about it here: How well do goalies age? A look at a goalie aging curve.

I never said Primeau is a shoe-in to be a starter or even close to that. In fact it's still more likely that he doesn't. Rather that if he's good enough he will slowly get his share of starts, and Price's long-term presence in Montreal isn't an obstacle to Primeau signing in Montreal, as some were speculating earlier in the thread. The likelihood that he won't become an above average NHL goalie and needs a lot of work to get there is just another reason why this isn't really an issue.

Fair points. :thumbu:
 

FrankMTL

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Will be fun to see how he does in the NCAA Championship.

I would hope that he'll stay another year in the NCAA, but if he decides to go pro (I doubt the Habs will push him to), than he should be starting or sharing the starting job with McNiven in Laval.
 

Marc the Habs Fan

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I am shocked. I guess his thinking is 'how much better can I get playing 40 games in the NCAA for another season?'

Thank god we'll avoid the ''he will never sign with Montreal because of Price'' nonsense that was already starting to build among fans of other teams.
 

Peasy

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I am shocked. I guess his thinking is 'how much better can I get playing 40 games in the NCAA for another season?'

Thank god we'll avoid the ''he will never sign with Montreal because of Price'' nonsense that was already starting to build among fans of other teams.

Will he get any playing time with Laval this season?
 

HOPE

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I am shocked. I guess his thinking is 'how much better can I get playing 40 games in the NCAA for another season?'

Thank god we'll avoid the ''he will never sign with Montreal because of Price'' nonsense that was already starting to build among fans of other teams.


huhh thats odd and a wierd choice by Montreal, i understand they might be scared to lose him in a loophole but extending his stay one more year followed by 2 full AHL season, then backup in the NHL sounds like better management considering Price's contract! it's not like the NCAA was a low tier league.
 

Marc the Habs Fan

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My guess is Primeau will still play the 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons in the AHL (ages 20-21-22). Perhaps even a 4th season too. By the Price will be in need of 30-35 games of rest per season, so it will still work out.

Will he get any playing time with Laval this season?

If he's going there to end the year, you can bet on it. They are basically out of it.
 
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The Devil In I

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I am shocked. I guess his thinking is 'how much better can I get playing 40 games in the NCAA for another season?'

Thank god we'll avoid the ''he will never sign with Montreal because of Price'' nonsense that was already starting to build among fans of other teams.


Being preoccupied with playing pro explains him blowing it out his ass in Northeasterns game today.
 
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Deficient Mode

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I like the decision to bring him to Laval. Presumably he will be able to work more closely with Waite and co. If they're confident in their goaltending coach - and the Habs should be - I don't see why they'd think he'd develop better in the NCAA next year. I would simply expect his save percentage to drop a lot behind Laval's defense.
 

montreal

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I like the decision to bring him to Laval. Presumably he will be able to work more closely with Waite and co. If they're confident in their goaltending coach - and the Habs should be - I don't see why they'd think he'd develop better in the NCAA next year. I would simply expect his save percentage to drop a lot behind Laval's defense.

for most of the year Laval has been among the top teams in shots against and goals against. Their defense is solid, they have zero legit goal scorers.
 

Skinnyjimmy08

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huhh thats odd and a wierd choice by Montreal, i understand they might be scared to lose him in a loophole but extending his stay one more year followed by 2 full AHL season, then backup in the NHL sounds like better management considering Price's contract! it's not like the NCAA was a low tier league.

I think its a brilliant choice by Montreal. I would imagine they are estatic getting him locked up.
 

Deficient Mode

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for most of the year Laval has been among the top teams in shots against and goals against. Their defense is solid, they have zero legit goal scorers.

They have? They're 19th out of 31 teams in total goals against right now. Their goalies are a combined .896 this year and were well below AHL average last year too. I was under the impression that they make a fair number of defensive lapses that significantly increased the opposition's shooting percentage. Lindgren putting up a better save percentage in the NHL than in the AHL only added to that impression for me.
 

montreal

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They have? They're 19th out of 31 teams in total goals against right now. Their goalies are a combined .896 this year and were well below AHL average last year too. I was under the impression that they make a fair number of defensive lapses that significantly increased the opposition's shooting percentage. Lindgren putting up a better save percentage in the NHL than in the AHL only added to that impression for me.

yes they were, they lost their starting goalie and had their 3rd, 4th and 5th string goalies. Before that they were one of the top teams in shots against and goals against. I have a season pass and have seen all but 2 games or so. Defense is the least of their problems.

Last year they were a tire fire in their own end, if I wasn't a fan it would have been comical at how bad they were and how they never seemed to improve throughout the year. But that coaching staff was fired and the new group has done a great job with one of the youngest teams in the AHL and often they dress 3 rookies on the blueline. Granted having a vet like Alzner has helped, he's been good defensively even though he's slow as heck even in the AHL.
 
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Deficient Mode

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yes they were, they lost their starting goalie and had their 3rd, 4th and 5th string goalies. Before that they were one of the top teams in shots against and goals against. I have a season pass and have seen all but 2 games or so. Defense is the least of their problems.

Last year they were a tire fire in their own end, if I wasn't a fan it would have been comical at how bad they were and how they never seemed to improve throughout the year. But that coaching staff was fired and the new group has done a great job with one of the youngest teams in the AHL and often they dress 3 rookies on the blueline. Granted having a vet like Alzner has helped, he's been good defensively even though he's slow as heck even in the AHL.

Lindgren is .884 and McNiven is .904. That's still not a very good combination. Do you think that that is due to the performance of the goalies themselves rather than the team's mistakes then? I'd still be surprised if Primeau came close to .930 in the AHL next season.
 

Marc the Habs Fan

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Lindgren had an absolutely miserable year and played a lot of the games, which is a big reason why their team GAA is where it is.

McNiven has been good since early December after a shaky start to the season and journeyman Connor LaCouvee has done a heck of a job too during that time (his numbers are good).
 

xNogaitx

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huhh thats odd and a wierd choice by Montreal, i understand they might be scared to lose him in a loophole but extending his stay one more year followed by 2 full AHL season, then backup in the NHL sounds like better management considering Price's contract! it's not like the NCAA was a low tier league.

I think to the contrary, that it offers them with great options.

With Seattle's expansion draft coming up soon, who knows the kind of offer Montreal could get for Price's services.

Better know ahead if you have a good replacement in Primeau or not. Lindgren is NHL bound next year, McNiven & Primeau will battle for the starter role in the AHL with a stronger team which could go the distances with the influx of talent coming up from recent drafts.

Wouldn't be surprised if Montreal drafts a G this year in the mid-rounds.
 

HuGo Sham

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Lindgren is .884 and McNiven is .904. That's still not a very good combination. Do you think that that is due to the performance of the goalies themselves rather than the team's mistakes then? I'd still be surprised if Primeau came close to .930 in the AHL next season.
lingren has been chronically injured all year. he'll back up price next year while mcniven - who's only 21 and primeau will play in laval
 

montreal

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Lindgren is .884 and McNiven is .904. That's still not a very good combination. Do you think that that is due to the performance of the goalies themselves rather than the team's mistakes then? I'd still be surprised if Primeau came close to .930 in the AHL next season.

Lindgren was injured and when he came back he did not look the same. In 14 games from the injury he's let in 4 or more goals in 7 of those games. In 18 games before that he let in 4 or more goals just 2 times.

I don't know if he came back too soon or what but he did not look the same. On the Habs board we have been talking about as now we don't know what management will do as Lindgren was seen as the likely backup to Price next year but now that he's struggled it's risky to go into the season with him as the backup and 2 young guys in Primeau/McNiven.

Next year we'll see what the D looks like, with the AHL changes are usually vast from year to year.
 
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