Big statement from the Canadiens regarding a trade involving a goalie

Despite the presence of Jake Allen, Samuel Montembeault, and Cayden Primeau within the organization, Kent Hughes acquired the Pittsburgh Penguins' goalie in a three-team trade with the San Jose Sharks, which allowed the Canadiens' general manager to offload the salaries of Mike Hoffman and Rem Pitlick and repatriate Jeff Petry, before shipping him off to the Detroit Red Wings.

However, there are some doubts that the Canadiens' new goalie will face the same fate as Jeff Petry, and as reported by Charles-Alexis Brisebois from Danslescoulisses.com, it could very well be another goalie from the organization who might be packing his bags.

In his press conference following the announcement of the trade that sent Jeff Petry home to Michigan, Kent Hughes was a bit evasive when asked about the plan with Casey DeSmith.

A statement from Kent Hughes that got people talking.

Will DeSmith be traded, or will he be one of the Canadiens' goalies at the start of the 2023-2024 season?

For now, it's quite difficult to answer this question because, as mentioned by the Canadiens' GM, the market is pretty quiet at the moment. He even told DeSmith to be patient as a decision should be made soon.

But what caught attention during Hughes' press conference was that he opened the door to the Canadiens' new acquisition starting the season in Montreal. TVA Sports journalist Renaud Lavoie mentioned it on his X account.

It's possible because when we look at the current contract situation of the CH's goalies, we see that Montembeault and DeSmith will be free agents at the end of the 2023-2024 season, and Allen will earn $3.85 million per year for the next two seasons.

As for Primeau, he would have to go through waivers if he were to be assigned to the Laval Rocket, which is highly likely to happen.

Following some logic, Montembeault and DeSmith might be the ones most likely to move, but there's also the fact that Primeau might be claimed by another NHL team if he were to go through waivers.

But the option of trading Jake Allen is also very appealing for the CH as he could have great market value, and the team would also free up close to $4 million on the payroll.

We can undoubtedly expect Kent Hughes to be active before the start of the season regarding one of his goalies, and bets are now open as to which one will be traded before the 2023-2024 season starts.