(Laval) The world of professional hockey, as crazy carpetis not for the meek, especially not this 2024 holiday season.
Posted at 5:14 p.m.
A coach, Derek Lalonde, was fired by the Detroit Red Wings the day after Christmas. And Cayden Primeau received a call from Kent Hughes “before Christmas”, but “after the match in Columbus”. As this game took place on December 23, we deduce that it was on Christmas Eve that the general manager of the Canadiens called Primeau.
This was, we later learned, to inform him that he would be subject to waivers on December 28, that is, as soon as the holiday moratorium on personnel movements was lifted. No one claimed Primeau, so on the 29th, he was given to the Rocket. Thursday morning, it was therefore in Laval, and not in Chicago, that he trained. And it was shots from Luke Tuch that he received as a warm-up, rather than Emil Heineman or Jayden Struble.
Hughes’ call was “hard to hear,” Primeau agreed. “But it’s not the end of the world. It’s a good league and things are going well in Montreal. I’m just happy to play. Nothing is owed to me, I will have to earn it. But I haven’t played much in two years, so I’m coming back here and I’m going to have fun. That’s the important thing. »
In a season where 78 goalies got at least two starts, Primeau comes in at 78e rank for goals allowed average (4.70) and efficiency (.836). His last departure, on 1is December in Boston, ended with a 6-3 defeat. Eleven days later, he was sent in to relieve Samuel Montembeault during the disastrous third period of a disastrous 9-2 loss to Pittsburgh; he gave up three times on seven shots.
Even though Primeau allowed goals in spades, Martin St-Louis never openly criticized the quality of his play. But through his actions, we understood that the coach was dissatisfied. Thus, on December 20 and 21, St-Louis assigned two departures in 24 hours to Montembeault, contrary to the usual practice of distributing the task.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Cayden Primeau during a game between the Seattle Kraken and the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre, October 29, 2024
“Sam is playing well, the team has been playing very well for a month and a half, it’s clicking for everyone. That’s why I thought they made this decision,” Primeau said.
Good old trust
Some athletes will self-flagellate at the slightest failure. Juraj Slafkovsky falls into this category.
At the other end of the spectrum, we find Primeau who, although he is shaken by his performances this season, does not let it show.
“You can train as long as you want, the timing is not the same. But I never lost my confidence,” he assures.
The 25-year-old American also says he considers himself “certainly” (definitely) as a goalie in the National League. “Even with my results this season, I felt like I was doing good things in several games. This was also the case last year. »
In 2023-2024, Primeau showed statistics worthy of the NHL, with an average of 2.99, an efficiency of .910 and 2 shutouts in 21 starts.
Whether the young man says he is shaken or not, he needs “confidence”, recalled Pascal Vincent. The Rocket head coach was also seen in conversation with Primeau on the ice before the official start of the session.
“He needs to play, to feel good in training, to have fun playing hockey,” Vincent said. We have a good locker room, I know he is close to certain players. He’s a good teammate, a good person. »
On this last point, it is difficult to contradict him. Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, for example, poorly hid his joy at reconnecting with Primeau, so much so that he briefly forgot the context. “It’s fun to be with him, he’s super positive. I’m happy to see him again. Well, happy for me, not for him! “, corrected the Saguenéen.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, ARCHIVES LA PRESSE
Rafael Harvey-Pinard
“I was talking about it with my girlfriend, she loves it too. It’s like he’s part of the family, he’s a close friend of ours, he makes an effort to learn French, he always asks us how to say this or that thing. »
What will happen to Primeau? In the very short term, he will play this weekend, “probably” starting this Friday, according to Vincent. Meanwhile, the Habs must play five series of two matches in 24 hours between now and February 9, when the season will be suspended to make way for the 4 Nations Confrontation. Enough to give Jakub Dobes a very adequate work schedule in the NHL.
In the medium term, the Primeau agreement expires on 1is July ; he will then become a free agent with compensation. We will have to see if Jacob Fowler will then have left Boston College to make the jump to the pros. The adventures of Primeau, who presented, at the same age, statistics similar to those of Fowler, while playing in the same division of the NCAA, nevertheless remind us that moderation tastes much better when the time comes to project the development of a guardian.
Hughes makes his mea culpa
Jakub Dobes was just returning to action after an injury when he was called up to take Primeau’s place in Montreal. Who knows if Connor Hughes wouldn’t have had this chance if Dobes’ injury had dragged on? At 28, the tall Ontarian is still hoping for a first recall, following his return to North America after spending seven years in Switzerland. Hughes is showing stats pretty close to Dobes this season. “But let’s be honest, he’s been playing better for a month or two and I haven’t gotten up. That probably had something to do with it. I need to get my confidence back and play better,” insisted Hughes.
