Canadiens risk NHL punishment after repeating controversial goalie move
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Montreal Canadiens management is currently playing with fire, and commissioner Gary Bettman could soon lose patience.
The obvious goal of this move is to give him optimal rest ahead of his expected start in Tonight’s matchup at the Bell Centre.
Journalist Eric Engels reported the news, noting that veteran Samuel Montembeault would serve as backup to Jakub Dobes on Saturday night (which we saw).
Canadiens repeat goalie travel move despite prior NHL warning
Just a few days ago, respected reporter Alain Crête revealed that the Canadiens had received an official warning from the NHL on this matter.
“The Canadiens got a slap on the wrist when they did that earlier this year.
It seems the league isn’t too fond of that [sending a goalie ahead], and that’s why Dobes went to Nashville with the team because the Canadiens got warned by the league.”
– Alain Crête
The league clearly does not appreciate this unconventional approach of moving a player ahead to another city during a road trip.
Despite that clear warning and directives from Gary Bettman, the organization has chosen to repeat the move, raising the possibility of an official sanction for this specific reason.
Many fans are defending the team’s actions, however: since the Canadiens are allocating part of their salary cap to carry three goaltenders in the NHL, they should be allowed to leverage that strategically.
It will be very interesting to see whether a notice lands on Kent Hughes’ desk in the coming hours.
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Canadiens risk NHL punishment after repeating controversial goalie move
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