{"id":865467,"date":"2026-08-20T22:16:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T22:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/865467\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T22:16:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T22:16:17","slug":"cowan-banking-on-goalie-jakub-dobes-was-stroke-of-genius-by-canadiens-gm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/865467\/","title":{"rendered":"Cowan: Banking on goalie Jakub Dobes was stroke of genius by Canadiens GM"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NHL Network ranked the Canadiens\u2019 Jakub Dobes as the 10th-best goalie in the league this week<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a well-deserved honour and very impressive when you consider Dobes was the 13th goalie selected at the 2020 NHL Draft.<\/a><\/p>\n

Dobes made the NHL Network\u2019s top 10 list after posting a 29-10-4 record last season, along with a 2.78 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage. The 25-year-old was the biggest reason why the Canadiens advanced to the Eastern Conference final, posting a 2.66 GAA and a .908 save percentage in the playoffs. In Game 7 wins over the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres during the first two rounds, Dobes stopped 65 of 68 shots for a .956 save percentage.<\/p>\n

Yaroslav Askarov <\/a>was the first goalie selected at the 2020 NHL Draft, going to the Nashville Predators in the first round (11th overall). Two summers ago, the Predators traded Askarov to the San Jose Sharks, where he had a 21-20-4 record last season with a 3.60 GAA and an .884 save percentage.<\/p>\n

Dobes could be the best bargain in the NHL this season, with a US$965,000 salary-cap hit in the final year of a two-year contract. He is by far the lowest-paid goalie among the NHL Network\u2019s top 10.<\/p>\n

The nine goalies ranked ahead of Dobes are the Tampa Bay Lightning\u2019s Andrei Vasilevskiy, the Winnipeg Jets\u2019 Connor Helleybuyck, the New York Rangers\u2019 Igor Shesterkin, the New York Islanders\u2019 Ilya Sorokin, the Boston Bruins\u2019 Jeremy Swayman, the Washington Capitals\u2019 Logan Thompson, the Dallas Stars\u2019 Jake Oettinger, the Philadelphia Flyers\u2019 Dan Vladar and the Minnesota Wild\u2019s Jesper Wallstedt.<\/p>\n

#Habs<\/a> Jakub Dobes to TVA Sports on arriving in MTL early<\/p>\n

“Towards the end of the year, you’re kind of sick of playing hockey and doing all that, but you take a one- or two-week break and you want to jump right back into it. As a team, we love to play hockey, and we just want to\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/8nXRbO1lCG<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Chris G (@ChrisHabs360) August 16, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Only three of those nine goalies have a salary-cap hit under US$8.25 million this season \u2014 Thompson (US$5.85 million), Vladar (US$3.35 million) and Wallstedt (US$2.2 million). Vladar has a five-year contract extension that will kick in for the 2027-28 season with a salary-cap hit of US$5.5 million, while Wallstedt can become a restricted free agent next summer. Shesterkin is the highest-paid goalie with a salary-cap hit of US$11.56 million.<\/p>\n

Last month, Canadiens GM Kent Hughes rewarded Dobes with a three-year, US$16.05-million contract extension <\/a>that kicks in for the 2027-28 season with an annual salary-cap hit of US$5.35 million. That will still be a great bargain if Dobes can perform the way he did last season.<\/p>\n

Of course, there\u2019s no guarantee of that.<\/p>\n

Goalies can be erratic, and Dobes has only 81 games of NHL experience, including playoffs.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Longtime Canadiens fans will remember Steve Penney <\/a>leading the team to the 1984 Eastern Conference final after getting called up from the AHL\u2019s Nova Scotia Voyageurs late in the season. Penney posted a 9-6 record in the playoffs, along with a 2.21 GAA, a .910 save percentage and three shutouts, with the Canadiens losing to the New York Islanders in the conference final. Penney quickly became a star in Montreal and during that playoff run, a fan at the Forum held up a sign that read \u201cPenney\u2019s from Heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next year, Penney had a 3.28 GAA in the playoffs and an .867 save percentage with the Canadiens losing to the Quebec Nordiques in the second round. The following season, 1985-86, Penney was limited to 18 games because of knee injuries, opening the door for rookie Patrick Roy, who would lead the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup. Penney was traded to the Winnipeg Jets after the 1985-86 season in exchange for goalie Brian Hayward. Penney played only 15 games with the Jets during the next two seasons and his NHL career was over.<\/p>\n

The Canadiens\u2019 Samuel Montembeault provided another example last season of how goalies can be erratic. After three solid seasons with save percentages of .901, .903 and .902, Montembeault\u2019s game totally fell apart with a .872 save percentage and a 3.43 GAA. He lost the No. 1 job to Dobes and the backup job to Jacob Fowler, who was called up from the AHL\u2019s Laval Rocket.<\/p>\n

The Toronto Maple Leafs are banking on 37-year-old Sergei Bobrovsky bouncing back from a tough season with the Florida Panthers, posting a 3.07 GAA and a .877 save percentage, after winning back-to-back Stanley Cups. Last month, the Leafs signed Bobrovsky as a free agent to a three-year, US$21-million contract.<\/p>\n

Visite sp\u00e9ciale \u00e0 l’\u00c9cole de hockey des Canadiens, alors que Jakub Dobes est venu passer du temps avec la prochaine g\u00e9n\u00e9ration de hockeyeurs ?<\/p>\n

A special visit at Canadiens Hockey School, as Jakub Dobes dropped by to spend time with the next generation of hockey players\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/n4QTx0TFaU<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Canadiens Montr\u00e9al (@CanadiensMTL) August 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Dobes isn\u2019t the most technically sound goalie, but he\u2019s a battler with a high compete level.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe plays with some kind of swagger and you can see it,\u201d Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis said.<\/p>\n

Indeed \u2014 and that can go a long way.<\/p>\n

Dobes\u2019s game reached another level after the hiring of Marco Marciano as goalie coach on Jan. 28 to replace Eric Raymond. In the 19 regular-season games Dobes played after Marciano was promoted from the Rocket, he had a 13-5-1 record with a 2.57 GAA and a .914 save percentage. Dobes has also worked hard with goalie mindset consultant Pete Fry.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWith Marco coming in, it definitely made me a way better goalie and I feel like I\u2019m excited for next year,\u201d Dobes said after signing his contract extension. \u201cI feel like if I play like last year, I\u2019m just excited for my potential and what I can bring to this team.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the NHL salary cap continuing to rise, Hughes was smart to show faith in Dobes and lock him up for the next four years.<\/p>\n

scowan@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n

x.com\/StuCowan1<\/a><\/p>\n

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