September 8, 2022
The Montreal Canadiens have signed goaltender Cayden Primeau to a three-year deal
The Montreal Canadiens have finally agreed with their RFA goaltender Cayden Primeau, 23, to a three-year contract extension that will run through to the end of the 2024-25 season.
Primeau’s new contract is a one-way deal in each of the three years, which carries an average annual value of $890,000 USD. He will earn $770,000 USD in 2022-23, $800,000 USD in 2023-24, and $1,100,000 USD in 2024-25. Despite the one-way terms of the deal, Primeau is still waiver exempt and can be sent to the Laval Rocket in the AHL without being exposed to other teams.
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Given that the Habs also have Jake Allen and Samuel Montembeault under contract, and as Carey Price has now been placed on LTIR, the writing on the wall seems to indicate that Primeau will partner Kevin Poulin in Laval – at least for now.
Jake Allen is entering the final year of his contract, and will become an unrestricted free agent at years end, and if the dynamic duo of Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton believe that the Montreal Canadiens are still in an unofficial rebuilding process, perhaps Allen finds himself on the market come trade deadline. Montembeault is entering the first year of his new two-year contract.
Primeau, 23, had a 1-7-1 record in 12 games with the Canadiens last season, posting a 4.62 goals-against average and a .868 save percentage. He also posted a 16-12-3 record in 33 games with the Laval Rocket.
A seventh-round pick in the 2017 draft, Primeau has a career record of 3-10-2 in the NHL.
As for Carey Price, things do not seem to be going very well, as the injured veteran star now finds himself back on LTIR – a move that was all but assured to be coming as soon as the Habs acquired Sean Monahan from Calgary last month. Hughes said that Price’s knee has not responded to any treatment that’s been attempted since his surgery.
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Price played in just five games at the tail end of last season, spending most of the year recovering from an off-season knee and hip procedures. Although the original diagnosis was that Price would be eligible to return in time for the start of last season, a string of complications emerged that have kept the 35-year-old all-star goaltender off the ice.
It looks almost certain that Carey Price will not play this coming season either. Price has four years remaining on an eight-year deal that sees the goalie earn a staggering $10,500,000 USD annual paycheck.
