Columbus Blue Jackets acquire goaltender Samuel Montembeault from Montreal Canadiens in blockbuster trade idea

Samuel Montembeault is still a Canadien heading into the weekend, but the Blue Jackets just got a real goaltending problem.

The trade rumors around Montembeault have dragged on for months. No deal has come, and Montreal's clock is starting to tick if it wants to move him before camp.

Then Thursday hit. Columbus announced Elvis Merzlikins underwent shoulder surgery, and there's no firm timeline for his return.

-

That single sentence changes everything for the Blue Jackets.

Jet Greaves is the clear starter in Columbus. He posted 55 appearances and 18 wins with a .907 save percentage this past season, miles ahead of Merzlikins' 30 games, 10 wins and .883 mark.

Behind Greaves? Pheonix Copley, who has all of one NHL appearance to his name. That's the depth chart Rick Bowness is staring at right now.

And Columbus can't afford a soft start. The Blue Jackets finished 40-30-12 last season, 18th overall, with Werenski's future in Ohio an open question.

Why Montembeault could actually fit in Columbus

Kirill Marchenko is also approaching a contract crossroads of his own, adding more weight to every roster decision Waddell makes right now.

Here's the thing. Montembeault's own season was rough, a .873 save percentage across 25 games. Nobody's pretending otherwise.

But rewind further and there's a track record. He helped Montreal reach the playoffs in 2024-25, and he's had stretches where he looked like a legitimate NHL starter, not a fringe piece.

If Merzlikins is out for a while and Copley is the only emergency option, a reclamation project like Montembeault suddenly looks a lot more interesting to Don Waddell.

Would Montreal take a shot on unloading him for magic beans just to clear the crease? Probably not. But the leverage just shifted.

Montreal actually owns the head-to-head edge here too, going 1-1-1 against Columbus last season, including a 2-1 win back on March 26.

There's history between these front offices. Waddell and Kent Hughes already worked out the Patrik Laine trade, and both sides reportedly discussed Marchenko's situation more recently.

Nobody's saying Montembeault becomes the connective tissue in a Marchenko blockbuster. That would be a stretch, and a bad one to force.

But if Hughes helps Waddell patch a hole in net, that's the kind of favor that keeps a phone line open. And in this league, that's worth more than it sounds.