Hockey changes fast! Remember last year, Martin St-Louis stated loud and clear that Jake Allen was the team's number-one goalie. As the season progressed, it became clear that this statement had not aged well. In the eyes of most fans and observers, Samuel Montembeault is now the team's number-one goalie. Jake Allen has given the Canadiens good service, but what is his future with the organization? With the acquisition of Casey DeSmith, many are asking the question, and according to Michel Bergeron, it's Jake Allen who will jump ship. <q> A three-way partnership in front of the net doesn't work. I'd like to see [Samuel] Montembeault given all the space and told, You're the number-one goalie. I think we'd like to trade Allen. DeSmith could be Montembeault's backup. - Michel Bergeron</q> DeSmith earns only 1.8 million this year and will be a free agent next summer. What's more, he's far from bad, and even had better stats than the CH's two goaltenders last year. <q>We won't talk about him much today, but with his 3.17 average and .905 efficiency rate, Casey DeSmith would have had the best stats of any Canadien goaltender in 2022-2023. - Simon-Olivier Lorange, La Presse</q> <blockquote class=twitter-tweet><p lang=fr dir=ltr>We won't talk about him much today, but with his 3.17 average and .905 efficiency rate, Casey DeSmith would have had the best stats of any Canadien goaltender in 2022-2023.- Simon-Olivier Lorange (@SO_Lorange) <a href=https://twitter.com/SO_Lorange/status/1688250532308094976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>August 6, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src=https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js charset=utf-8> However, we have to be careful. If the future between the posts for the Habs is truly reserved for Monty, having a quality veteran like Jake Allen by his side will be paramount. We don't know DeSmith's leadership or mentoring qualities, but Kent Hughes will have to take that into consideration. One thing's for sure: with Cayden Primeau up for grabs and either DeSmith or Allen on the way out, the face of the Habs in front of the net could change this year. <blockquote class=twitter-tweet><p lang=fr dir=ltr>All eyes are on Petry, but... <a href=https://t.co/JWDs0956cn>https://t.co/JWDs0956cn</a>- TVA Sports (@TVASports) <a href=https://twitter.com/TVASports/status/1688596128411910145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>August 7, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src=https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js charset=utf-8>