Surprising Goalie Named Most Impactful for the Canadiens After Carey Price in the Last 20 Years

A total of 21 goaltenders have suited up between the pipes for the Canadiens since the 2005-06 season.

That season, the team's number one goalie, José Théodore, was traded to the Colorado Avalanche in March 2006 in exchange for David Aebischer.

So, even though Théodore was also a major figure within the Montreal organization, he can't realistically be considered at the top of our ranking, as his best years came before 2005.

The departure of the Laval native opened the door for Cristobal Huet. Born in St-Martin-d'Hères, France, Huet played for the Canadiens from 2005 to 2008. In his first season in Montreal, he was outstanding, finishing with a 2.20 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage in 36 games.

Marc Denis-who now forms an excellent commentary duo with Pierre Houde at RDS-also stood in net for the Canadiens once during the 2008-09 season. It was the final game of his NHL career.

Among the goalies who had only brief stints with the team over the past 20 years, you can include names like Yann Danis, Alex Auld, Mike Condon, Ben Scrivens, Keith Kinkaid, Andrew Hammond, and Michael McNiven. At just 24 years old, young Jakub Dobes has also played only 16 games so far.

Other netminders are still well-known to Habs fans, even if they weren't the most impactful. These include Al Montoya, Antti Niemi, Cayden Primeau, David Aebischer, Dustin Tokarski, and Charlie Lindgren.

I love Samuel Montembeault, and the current number one goalie in the Canadiens organization will surely continue to deliver great performances.

I also have tremendous respect for Jake Allen, who was very solid and a wonderful teammate in the locker room.

Cristobal Huet and Peter Budaj round out the top five, but for me, it's impossible not to place recently retired goalie Jaroslav Halak at the very top of the list.

The Slovak goaltender was sensational in Montreal, even to the point of casting doubt in the minds of some fans who wondered whether he should be the starter over Price. One thing's for sure-Halak gave us unforgettable moments, and his performances will never be forgotten.