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Cayden Primeau

East Notes: Primeau, Lettieri, Leonard

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Hurricanes RFA goaltender Cayden Primeau signed a one-year, league minimum deal yesterday, according to a team release.

Primeau saw his signing rights transferred from Montreal to Carolina on Monday in exchange for a 2026 seventh-round pick. The 25-year-old bounced between the NHL and AHL for his first four professional seasons coming out of Northeastern University, but won a full-time roster spot with the Habs in 2023-24, in part due to their unwillingness to expose him to waivers.

He looked good in a three-goalie rotation with Sam Montembeault and Jake Allen that year but struggled mightily as Montembeault’s full-time No. 2 to begin last season. He posted an .836 SV% and sky-high 4.70 GAA with a 2-3-1 record in seven starts and four relief appearances before being waived in December, clearing and heading to AHL Laval.

Primeau got things back on track with a .926 SV% and 2.00 GAA in 25 games with Laval. The Canes hope he can carry that momentum into 2025-26 as he serves as the No. 3 behind the returning NHL tandem of Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov, assuming he clears waivers again in the fall.

Here are a couple of other league minimum signings from yesterday:

  • The Maple Leafs brought in veteran depth center Vinni Lettieri, per PuckPedia. While a one-way deal, that’s presumably to guarantee him more compensation. They’re hoping he clears waivers and can be an impact player for AHL Toronto after they lost some important pieces like Nicholas Abruzzese and Alex Steeves yesterday. The 30-year-old spent last year with the Bruins organization, recording five points in 26 NHL games and 48 points in 46 AHL games.
  • The Red Wings announced a one-year, one-way league minimum deal for winger John Leonard yesterday. He joins their July 1 haul that also included James van Riemsdyk, Jacob Bernard-Docker, and Ian Mitchell. It’s the 26-year-old’s first NHL contract in a year – he spent last season on an AHL deal with Charlotte, leading the Calder Cup runner-ups in scoring with 36 goals, 25 assists, and 61 points in 72 games.

Hurricanes Acquire Cayden Primeau

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The Hurricanes have added some extra goaltending depth heading into next season, acquiring Cayden Primeau from the Canadiens in exchange for a 2026 seventh-round pick.  Both teams have confirmed the swap.

Primeau entered this season as the full-time backup for Montreal for the first time in his career after the team moved Jake Allen to New Jersey at the 2024 trade deadline.  However, the 25-year-old struggled mightily, posting a 4.70 GAA and a .836 SV% in 11 outings, resulting in him landing on waivers after the holiday break in December.  He cleared and was promptly sent to AHL Laval.

With the Rocket, Primeau played much better.  In 26 regular season games with them, he posted a 21-2-2 record along with a 1.96 GAA and a .927 SV%.  His performance was a bit more inconsistent in the playoffs, however, as he put up a 3.27 GAA and a .878 SV% in eight outings while struggling in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Primeau has seen NHL action in six straight seasons but is still relatively unproven at the top level as he only has 55 career appearances, 10 of them coming in relief.  Overall, he has a 3.69 GAA and a .884 SV% in those outings.

It will be interesting to see what Carolina’s plan is for Primeau.  With Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov already under contract, there isn’t a spot with the Hurricanes, at least not unless they plan to carry three netminders which is something they’ve done in the past.  He received a $1.068MM qualifying offer from the Canadiens earlier today so it’s possible that they plan to make him one of the higher-paid third-string goalies, hoping that a potential seven-figure salary could dissuade teams from claiming him off waivers which would allow them to stash him with AHL Chicago.

As for Montreal, the Canadiens only have two goalies under contract at the moment, starter Sam Montembeault and prospect Jacob Fowler.  Jakub Dobes, who took over for Primeau as the backup midseason, is a pending RFA as well but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Montreal look to add a netminder in free agency in the coming days, at least as extra depth.

Canadiens Assign Oliver Kapanen And Cayden Primeau To AHL

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Following their elimination at the hands of the Capitals, the Canadiens have sent a pair of players to the minors to keep their seasons going.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they have assigned center Oliver Kapanen and goaltender Cayden Primeau to AHL Laval.

This will actually be Kapanen’s first taste of AHL action.  He started the season with Montreal before being loaned to SHL Timra for more playing time.  After putting up 35 points in 36 games with them, he was recalled to the NHL in April.  All told, the 21-year-old played in 18 regular season contests with the Canadiens, collecting two assists in a little under 11 minutes of playing time.  Kapanen also picked up a helper in three playoff appearances where he logged just under seven minutes a night of action.

As for Primeau, his stint with Montreal was short-lived after being recalled last weekend following the injury to Sam Montembeault.  He struggled mightily in limited action with the Canadiens this season, posting a 4.70 GAA and a .836 SV% in 11 appearances.  However, he was dominant with Laval, winning 21 of 25 games while putting up a 2.00 GAA and a .926 SV%.  A pending restricted free agent owed a $1.068MM qualifying offer next month, Primeau and prospect Jacob Fowler will serve as the Rocket’s netminders for their postseason run.

Notably, netminder Jakub Dobes was not sent down.  Montreal used one of their four post-deadline recalls as a paper transaction to keep the 23-year-old eligible to play with the Rocket down the stretch.  However, it appears that won’t be the case now.  Dobes could be a candidate to play for Czechia at the Worlds or perhaps the team decided that since he has been a full-time NHL goalie since late December, it wouldn’t be right to send him down now.

Canadiens Recall Cayden Primeau

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The Montreal Canadiens have recalled goaltender Cayden Primeau in the wake of an injury to starter Sam Montembeault. Montembeault left Game 3 during a second-period TV-timeout, after a conversation with Montreal’s director of sports medicine and performance, Jim Ramsay. He has been listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, did not practice on Sunday, and will formally be questionable for Game 4 – head coach Martin St. Louis shared with NHL.com. Montreal will start rookie Jakub Dobes in their next matchup, and now have Primeau as a potential backup option.

Primeau has had a near-perfect season in the minor leagues. He’s posted a dazzling 21-2-2 record, .927 save percentage, and 1.96 goals-against average. In turn, Primeau recorded the fewest losses, the third-highest save percentage, and the highest goals-against average of all qualified AHL goalies. It was a true breakout performance after Primeau posted a .909 save percentage, and varying surrounding stats, in each of the last four AHL seasons.

Primeau was the de facto starter any time he was in the AHL, though he fell three games shy of the Laval Rocket’s lead in games played after spending two months on the NHL roster to start the season. He stepped into 11 games over that tenure and managed a far less encouraging 2-3-1 record, .836 save percentage, and 4.70 goals-against-average. It continued what’s been a string of underwhelming NHL performances for Primeau, who sits with a 13-24-7 record and .884 save percentage through 55 career games. Those numbers were boosted slightly by a .910 save percentage in 23 games last year – numbers that Montreal will hope he can recreate after a flawless season in the minor leagues.

Cayden Primeau Clears Waivers, Assigned To AHL

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Dec. 29th: The Canadiens organization announced Primeau has successfully cleared waivers. As expected, Montreal has reassigned Primeau to their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket.

Dec. 27th: While the Canadiens are carrying three goalies following today’s recall of Jakub Dobes, that won’t be the case for long.  Following practice today, head coach Martin St. Louis told reporters including Sportsnet’s Eric Engels (Twitter link) that Montreal will place goaltender Cayden Primeau on waivers on Saturday.  The roster freeze doesn’t end until tomorrow which is why this move isn’t being made today.

Things were looking up for Primeau heading into the season.  After playing in a three-goalie rotation for most of last season, Primeau secured the full-time second spot after Jake Allen was moved to New Jersey at the trade deadline.  He finished up the season strong, putting up a .919 SV% in March and April, providing some optimism that he’d be ready for a full season of being a second-string option.

However, that hasn’t been the case as Primeau has struggled mightily thus far in 2024-25.  The 25-year-old has been limited to 11 appearances (four of which have come in relief) and he has posted a 4.70 GAA with a .836 SV%, ranking him last league-wide in both categories among netminders with more than one appearance this season.  That resulted in the team being hesitant to play him as his last start came back on December 1st.  With Samuel Montembeault only 13 games away from matching his career-high in appearances in a single season, carrying a backup they’re not comfortable using was unsustainable.

While Montreal was hesitant to waive him last season for fear he’d be claimed, it appears they’re more confident he’ll pass through now given his struggles so far.

The timing for those struggles is far from ideal for Primeau.  He’s in the final season of a three-year deal that carries a $890K cap charge while he’s also receiving a $1.1MM one-way salary.  As things stand, it’s hard to see the Canadiens (or another team if he’s claimed) offer him a seven-figure qualifying offer with arbitration rights this summer unless he is able to vastly turn things around in the second half of the season.

With Primeau not officially becoming available until Saturday, teams will have until 1 PM CT on Sunday to submit a claim for his services.

Trade Rumors: DeAngelo, Walker, Canadiens Goalies

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Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Tony DeAngelo “has been on the trade market for more than a month already,” according to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. (subscription link) But according to LeBrun, “the market has been soft for DeAngelo,” and the Hurricanes’ efforts to find a trade partner for the defenseman are potentially impacted by the presence of Tyson Barrie, another right-shot power play specialist, on the trade market alongside DeAngelo.

DeAngelo’s second stint in Raleigh hasn’t quite gone as well as his first. In 2021-22, the now-28-year-old 2014 first-round pick averaged 19:49 time on ice per game and scored 10 goals and 51 points in 64 games, which is a 13-goal, 65-point 82-game pace. This season, though, he’s only averaged 16:11 time on ice, has just seven points in 16 games, and has not played since mid-November. Although he has two 50-plus point seasons on record and once appeared on some Norris Trophy ballots, DeAngelo may not be in the Hurricanes’ plans for much longer.

Some other trade notes from across the NHL:

  • TSN’s Darren Dreger reported on the Insider Trading segment yesterday that “it’s expected [the Flyers] could command as much as a first-round draft pick” in any trade involving blueliner Sean Walker. While there isn’t any indication that the Flyers are shopping Walker, the 29-year-old’s standout all-around play this season, his affordable $2.65MM cap hit, and his pending UFA status all place him among the most attractive defensemen that might be available on the trade market. If a team would like to acquire him, though, it appears the price is going to be in line with other recent blueline rentals, such as Ben Chiarot and Dmitry Orlov, who each returned first-round picks of their own.
  • LeBrun also reported in his piece today that “the Montreal Canadiens are still hoping to move a goalie,” and that they don’t want to keep three goalies on their active roster for the full season. LeBrun reports that the team is “listening to offers” on Cayden Primeau and Jake Allen, two names that make sense to deal since Samuel Montembeault recently signed a three-year extension. That being said, the team has yet to receive a trade offer for either player and trading Allen could be challenging due to his $3.85MM cap hit and the fact that he has the right to submit a seven-team no-trade list.

Snapshots: Oilers, Nylander, Three Stars

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Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman spoke about the Edmonton Oilers goaltending situation on the most recent episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast, sharing that the team is in search for a new netminder with Jack Campbell struggling in the AHL. Specifically, Friedman reported that the Oilers recently got a good look at the three goalies with the Montreal Canadiens and could be interested in acquiring either Cayden Primeau or Sam Montembeault.

Montembeault has yet to sign his anticipated contract extension with the Canadiens, and Friedman adds that this extension could be a barrier for Montreal in any trade talks. The 27-year-old goaltender is in his third season with Montreal, joining the team via waivers ahead of the 2021-22 season. He’s performed well for the team since, recording a .908 save percentage through eight games this season and a .901 save percentage in 40 games last year. Edmonton is looking for a goaltender to support sophomore Stuart Skinner, rather than finding one to replace him, per Friedman. Montembeault could be a budget-friendly option if Montreal is willing to part with him.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun has shared that the Toronto Maple Leafs are being deliberately tight-lipped about star winger William Nylander’s looming contract extension, but that both sides remain committed to finding a deal before he hits free agency. One exec that LeBrun spoke with compared the negotiations to David Pastrnak’s extension negotiations, and another estimated that the winger could make $10.5 to $11 million on his next deal. Nylander recently forced his way into the spotlight again by scoring five points in Toronto’s pair of Global Series matchups.
  • The NHL has announced its Three Stars of the Week, with Sidney Crosby taking Third Star, Nylander winning Second Star, and Cale Makar being awarded First Star. Crosby won on the back of a five goal, seven point performance through four games this week; Nylander’s Global Series performance earned him a nomination despite playing just two games; and Makar amassed an impressive eight points in three games this week to top the list.

Atlantic Notes: Primeau, Zboril, Heinen

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Canadiens goaltender Cayden Primeau has struggled at the NHL level so far with a 4.11 GAA and a .871 SV% in 21 games but has shown enough in the AHL that he’s still viewed as a possible goalie of the future.  He now requires waivers to get back to the minors but TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (video link) that the team believes he won’t make it through unclaimed.  Accordingly, they’re giving serious consideration to carrying three goalies to start the season with Primeau joining holdovers Samuel Montembeault and Jake Allen.  Primeau has two years left on his one-way contract which carries a cap hit of $890K but with the price of third-string goalies going up a lot this summer, even the one-way element might not dissuade a potentially interested team from taking a flyer on him.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • Bruins defenseman Jakub Zboril returned to practice yesterday for the first time since being injured in Boston’s preseason opener, relays Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic (Twitter link). The blueliner was in a non-contact sweater but it was still a step in the right direction.  This is an important camp for the 26-year-old who is entering the final year of his contract, one that carries an AAV of $1.1375MM.  Boston could opt to waive Zboril, giving them some much-needed cap flexibility so he’ll be looking to get into some games to try to lock down his spot.
  • Still with Boston, Nick Goss of NBC Sports Boston argues that the Bruins should keep winger Danton Heinen who is in with the group on a PTO. While he’s not a prototypical fourth-line player, he would give them a bit more offensive punch.  With the firepower they lost over the summer, they could stand to benefit from carrying a bit more of an offensive-minded depth player.  Speculatively, Heinen would wind up with a deal at or close to the league minimum of $775K if he got a contract offer but they would need to open up some room before they could even offer that.

Looking At Landing Spots For Montreal’s Goalie Surplus

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While the Canadiens don’t have long-time franchise netminder Carey Price available to them as he’ll remain on LTIR for the upcoming season (or the next two) and they have been searching for a replacement in recent years.  While they haven’t found their next true starter, they have amassed some extra depth at the position with four netminders vying for two spots in training camp next month.

The tandem from the past two seasons remains in place with veteran Jake Allen being joined by Samuel Montembeault who is coming off his best NHL campaign.  Casey DeSmith is now in the mix as well after being brought in as part of the Erik Karlsson trade over the weekend while prospect Cayden Primeau, viewed not long ago as a possible part of Montreal’s future goalie plans, now needs waivers to get back to AHL Laval.

While it’s possible that they could carry three netminders to start next season (though hardly an ideal scenario), four certainly isn’t happening.  Assuming Montembeault and Allen remain the tandem, there’s no guarantee that DeSmith and/or Primeau would make it through waivers unclaimed and as a result, it wouldn’t be surprising to see GM Kent Hughes call around to see if there’s a possible trade to be made for one of his extra goaltenders.  There are a few teams where it appears a swap for another netminder could be palatable.

Buffalo: At the moment, it looks like the Sabres intend to run with a young tandem of Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with Eric Comrie likely bound for waivers.  If they feel that DeSmith is enough of an upgrade on Comrie to serve as a short-term NHL option, they could then let Levi get some time in with AHL Rochester.

Chicago: Arvid Soderblom appears to be the current backup option but only has 71 AHL appearances under his belt and is waiver-exempt.  They’re more of a training camp possibility if Soderblom struggles in the preseason but DeSmith as a short-term rental or Primeau as a longer-term swing both could fit.

New Jersey: Akira Schmid took over the number one job down the stretch and into the playoffs but is still relatively inexperienced and is waiver-exempt.  Meanwhile, the team hasn’t ruled out the idea of bringing in another goaltender.  Primeau doesn’t make much sense here but DeSmith, a player who is capable of making 30-plus appearances, might appeal to them more than current options on the open market.

Tampa Bay: Somewhat surprisingly, the Lightning added Jonas Johansson at the beginning of free agency, giving him a two-year deal at the league minimum.  But he has struggled in very limited NHL duty and could certainly be upgraded on.  DeSmith would definitely be an upgrade but would require Montreal to do the maximum 50% retention on his $1.8MM AAV or they’d need to send matching money back.

Vancouver: Spencer Martin was the backup goaltender for the opening part of last season but struggled mightily.  He currently stands as the likely second-stringer once again which is risky as the Canucks look to get back to the playoffs.  Cap space is an issue here (especially if Tanner Pearson is indeed able to return after finishing last season on LTIR) but someone like DeSmith would certainly be an upgrade.

On top of those teams, there could also be ones that have injuries in training camp that could force their hand closer to the start of the regular season if Montreal’s logjam still exists.

In the free agent market, the best remaining options available are veterans Martin Jones, Jaroslav Halak, and Brian Elliott.  If none of those goalies appeal to one of these teams and they want to make a move to add some goaltending depth, the Canadiens are a team they’ll be getting in touch with – if Montreal isn’t calling them first.  Between that and them now having an extra defenseman in the fold in veteran Jeff Petry, the Canadiens could be a team to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.

Montreal Canadiens Loan Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Three Others To AHL

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The Montreal Canadiens have loaned four players to their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, following yesterday’s 7-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs: Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Jesse Ylonen, Corey Schueneman, and Cayden Primeau.

Schueneman and Primeau were each recalled yesterday, and the former skated just over 10 minutes in the Canadiens’ contest yesterday.

The 27-year-old undrafted Western Michigan product has scored 21 points in 59 AHL games this season and is one of the Rocket’s most important defenders.

Primeau, 23, backed up Sam Montembeault yesterday and has spent most of the season as Laval’s number-one netminder. He’s posted a .905 save percentage in 38 games and is hoping to lead the Rocket back to the Calder Cup playoffs, a tournament they made a deep run in last season.

The two more significant names to be sent down, though, are Ylonen and Harvey-Pinard since they have each made their mark on the Canadiens’ NHL roster this season. Both players received NHL opportunities due to the significant injury issues that sprang up in Montreal, and both players have shown well in that opportunity.

Harvey-Pinard especially has made a name for himself, scoring 14 goals in 34 games, including a hat trick at the Bell Center. He’s a 2019 seventh-round pick who went undrafted in two straight years before hearing his name called by his boyhood club. Harvey-Pinard’s emergence as an NHL option comes after spending parts of the last three seasons in Laval, including last year where he led them in scoring with 56 points in 69 games.

While it might come as a surprise to many Canadiens fans to see Harvey-Pinard sent down after such a hot start to his NHL career, the circumstances Laval currently finds themselves in can serve as an explanation. The Rocket are just a point ahead of the Cleveland Monsters for the Northeast Division’s final playoff spot, and the Monsters have a game in hand.

Laval has a crucial game against the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins today, and perhaps the Canadiens organization deems allowing these players to play an important role in meaningful, late-season games to be a better developmental path than playing a few more potentially miserable NHL contests (like last night’s game) to finish out a lost Canadiens season.

The same logic applies to Ylonen, a speedy 2018 second-round pick who has scored a healthy 16 points in 37 games during his time in Montreal. The 23-year-old has scored 29 points in 36 games at the AHL level and is in his final year of waiver exemption.

Since the Canadiens are unlikely to entertain the possibility of losing him on waivers next season, this reassignment gives Ylonen possibly one last opportunity to make an impact at the AHL level before beginning his NHL career in earnest in the fall.

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