The Hurricanes have added some extra goaltending depth heading into next season, acquiring Cayden Primeau from the Canadiens in exchange for a 2026 seventh-round pick. Both teams have confirmed the swap.
Primeau entered this season as the full-time backup for Montreal for the first time in his career after the team moved Jake Allen to New Jersey at the 2024 trade deadline. However, the 25-year-old struggled mightily, posting a 4.70 GAA and a .836 SV% in 11 outings, resulting in him landing on waivers after the holiday break in December. He cleared and was promptly sent to AHL Laval.
With the Rocket, Primeau played much better. In 26 regular season games with them, he posted a 21-2-2 record along with a 1.96 GAA and a .927 SV%. His performance was a bit more inconsistent in the playoffs, however, as he put up a 3.27 GAA and a .878 SV% in eight outings while struggling in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Primeau has seen NHL action in six straight seasons but is still relatively unproven at the top level as he only has 55 career appearances, 10 of them coming in relief. Overall, he has a 3.69 GAA and a .884 SV% in those outings.
It will be interesting to see what Carolina’s plan is for Primeau. With Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov already under contract, there isn’t a spot with the Hurricanes, at least not unless they plan to carry three netminders which is something they’ve done in the past. He received a $1.068MM qualifying offer from the Canadiens earlier today so it’s possible that they plan to make him one of the higher-paid third-string goalies, hoping that a potential seven-figure salary could dissuade teams from claiming him off waivers which would allow them to stash him with AHL Chicago.
As for Montreal, the Canadiens only have two goalies under contract at the moment, starter Sam Montembeault and prospect Jacob Fowler. Jakub Dobes, who took over for Primeau as the backup midseason, is a pending RFA as well but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Montreal look to add a netminder in free agency in the coming days, at least as extra depth.