Cayden Primeau

September 2024 – It took a lot longer than most people expected, but Cayden Primeau is finally an NHL regular goaltender. His .910 save percentage in 23 games for the Canadiens last season cemented him in the 1B role to Samuel Montembeault, and following the trade of Jake Allen to the New Jersey Devils, his role was further boosted. He is large, athletic, and cerebral in his play, and is starting to show flashes of the potential he exuded in the NCAA. Aaron Itovitch

September 2021 – Primeau continued to be a strong starter in the AHL last year putting up a .909 save percentage in 16 games. He raised some concerns in his four NHL appearances where he looked overmatched against NHL shooters and posted a .849 save percentage. Primeau will begin the season as the Laval Rocket starter, but don’t be surprised if he gets some NHL starts given Carey Price’s injury history. Pablo Ruiz

July 2020 – Cayden Primeau was apart of the 33-man training camp roster that the Canadiens released on July 12th. It is highly unlikely that Primeau gets any starts. Pablo Ruiz

March 2020 – Primeau’s first-year pro has largely been a success. As a 20-year-old rookie he has excelled in the role as the starting goaltender for the Laval Rockets. He currently has a 15-11-3 record with a .905 save percentage and leads all AHL rookie goalies with a 2.55 Goals Against Average. Primeau also got a chance to test his skills at the NHL level this season during a brief call up where he started two games for the Canadiens. In those games, he went 1-1-0 putting up a 931% including an impressive 35 saves on 37 shots in a 3-2 overtime win over the Senators. Pablo Ruiz

May 2019 – Primeau ended his NCAA career with a bang, winning the Mike Richter Award as the top goalie in U.S. college hockey. He posted a 25-10-1 record with a 2.09 goals-against average, a .933 save percentage and four shutouts. The young netminder has excelled at every level; he helped Team USA win silver at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship ending with a 4-1-0 record with 1.61 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage. The seventh-round pick may very well turn out to be a steal for the Canadiens who signed him to an entry-level contract at the end of March. Primeau then reported to the Laval Rockets, the Montreal Canadiens’ AHL affiliate to begin his pro career. Although he did not play any games for the Rockets this campaign, slate him in to battle this fall for the backup role behind Carey Price. However, expect Primeau to get seasoning while having more ice time in the AHL. Jesse Sherman

March 2018 – Playing at an exceptional level for an 18-year-old in the NCAA, Primeau has reverted back to his status as a high-level goaltending prospect. A spectacular .933 save percentage and a 1.86 goals against average and the Beanpot Pig winner are just some of the 2017-18 accolades achieved by the freshman at Northeastern.

Primeau’s 2016-17 season in the USHL didn’t produce the best results as he often looked raw and over-aggressive. He did look better toward the end of the season, flashed his major potential at the Ivan Hlkina tournament, and his physical traits have always been appealing. Of course, Primeau’s bloodline also played a major part in him getting drafted as a potential seventh-round steal by the Canadiens later that June.

The combination of Primeau’s physical and mental skills give him NHL All-Star potential. He is still very young and has a long way to go before being NHL ready. But, due to his pedigree, he may even have a safe floor to compliment his high ceiling.

I wouldn’t expect Primeau to sign an NHL contract until 2020 at the earliest and not ready to compete at the NHL level until at least 2022-23. Mike Barrett