Kent Hughes' Bold Move: The General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens Makes a Strong Impact with the Signing of Samuel Montembeault

Upon his arrival, fans were highly skeptical, and with good reason. The goaltender's statistics were, at best, very ordinary, and his performances with the Habs were far from convincing.

But as Monty is a fighter, he continued to work hard, and the team's new management believed in him. So much so that he has just signed a three-season contract and is seen as the team's number one goaltender for the coming years.

Comparing Monty with other goalies of the same age, one can say that it's a brilliant move by Kent Hughes. With a record of 5-3-1, a 2.73 goals-against average, and a .910 save percentage, all while playing for a rebuilding team, his numbers are excellent. He will be paid $3.15 million for the next three years.

Vitek Vanecek has an 8-5-0 record with a much more competitive team, the New Jersey Devils. He has a 3.49 GAA and a .879 save percentage. His contract is three years at $3.4 million per year.

Filip Gustavsson plays for the Wild, a team expected to make the playoffs, but his statistics are far from impressive. Paid $3.75 million for three years, he has a negative record of 4-6-2 with a 3.46 GAA and an .891 save percentage.

We can add Karel Velmejka and Stuart Skinner, both with similar contracts but much poorer statistics. The only one performing as well is Alexandar Georgiev, the Colorado Avalanche goaltender. It's worth noting he doesn't have the same team in front of him.

All of this to say that Samuel's contract appears to be a real steal for Kent Hughes. Now, the Canadiens must quickly find a way to give him more playing time to see what he's made of on a regular basis.