Just after Christmas, the Montreal Canadiens made the decision to send goaltender Cayden Primeau on waivers, following a difficult first third of the season with the team.
Having not found a buyer in the NHL, the American was finally sold to the Laval Rocket, an environment he knows well in order to find an acceptable level of play.
In fact, Primeau has maintained a 2-3-1 record in 11 games this year, with an efficiency percentage of .836 and a goals against average of 4.70. The NHL is a league of results, and clearly, he was not up to par in 2024-2025.
Let’s say he hasn’t seen much action lately, leaving all the space to Samuel Montembeault, so this outcome seemed inevitable.
One might have thought that Primeau was going to arrive in Laval acting like a fool, of course, but it’s quite the opposite. Even if he would have preferred to stay at the top, he embraces the opportunity to play matches, having not played much for two years, notably with the famous three-goalkeeper menage last year. Kent Hughes’ call hurt, however.
“I had a long break, so getting back on the ice was a little difficult, but it feels good to be back and see the guys again. Things went well here in the first half of the season, so I’ll try to contribute for the second half.
It’s hard to hear, but it’s not the end of the world. Here, I won’t be given matches, I’ll have to earn them. I haven’t played much in two years, so being able to be back here and having fun playing is the most important thing. – Cayden Primeau
And, contrary to popular belief, the 25-year-old goalkeeper had not lost his confidence, but he admitted that he had played with the aim of not making any mistakes – a nuance with a thin line.
“Maybe I was afraid of making mistakes. Actually, “fear” may not be the right word. It’s more that I didn’t want to make mistakes. There is a fine line between losing confidence and not wanting to make mistakes.” – Cayden Primeau
Pascal Vincent, the Laval pilot, without having confirmed it, probably plans to use Primeau against the Abbotsford Canucks on Friday, so he will have the opportunity to bounce back quickly.
Who knows? Maybe a team could be interested in his services if he can turn things around? He’s still young, after all.
