The Florida Panthers took care of one of their few remaining restricted free agents on Sunday, re-signing goaltender Samuel Montembeault to a one-year, two-way contract.
Montembeault, 24, enters his fifth professional season in the Panthers organization, having split the first four between the NHL club and its AHL affiliate. In addition to spending time on the Panthers’ taxi squad, he also posted a 2.86 goals-against average in 13 games for the Syracuse Crunch last season.
An AHL All-Star in 2018-19, Montembeault has a 3.17 goals-against average and .900 save percentage in 104 career games with Springfield and Syracuse. He has also appeared in 25 NHL games with Florida, going 9-8-3 with a .320 goals-against average and .892 save percentage.
Montembeault, the Panthers’ third-round draft choice (77th overall) in 2015, is set to compete with highly-touted rookie Spencer Knight and veteran Christopher Gibson for a spot on the NHL roster this fall. The Checkers would likely receive two of those three on assignment, though it remains to be seen how the Panthers and Charlotte’s other parent club, the Seattle Kraken, will manage their goaltending depth.
More on Montembeault in our Know a Panthers Prospect series from last year.
After signing Montembeault, the Panthers’ remaining restricted free agent lists consists of just one player that could potentially sign a two-way contract – former Checkers defenseman Chase Priskie.
