The Montreal Canadiens have signed another goaltender, this time to a much smaller deal than the one Carey Price received. Charlie Lindgren has been inked to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2017-18 season. Lindgren was a restricted free agent this summer, though did not posses arbitration rights.
The Canadiens are locked into Price for the next nine years, but Lindgren represents both a backup option or trade bait for the club. With Al Montoya’s current deal expiring next season, Lindgren could step into an NHL role after another good season. Since signing out of St. Cloud State, he has done nothing but impress at both the NHL and AHL level. In 48 games for St. John’s this season, the 23-year old recorded a .914 save percentage and improved even more in the playoffs.
Almost guaranteed for the AHL this season, Lindgren’s three NHL games have given a small window into what might be a big-league future. Should another team come knocking, looking for good goaltending talent you can bet that Montreal will be listening. As they try to compete with Price now, in the prime of his career, they’ll use any piece necessary to build a winner around him.
Lindgren is a very good prospect for the Habs. He could take over the backup spot as early as this year depending on Montoya’s performance. With Price locked in for the next 9 years, Lindgren has no real shot at taking over the #1 spot but if he proves reliable, he could see upwards of 30 starts in the future which would allow the Price to be much fresher for the playoffs.