Despite having a full stable at the NHL level, the organization has spent a good portion of the summer ensuring their depth in between the pipes is fully stocked. Aside from drafting Brandon Halverson, the team also signed a two-year, two-way contact with former undrafted standout Cedrick Desjardins. The 6-foot-0 Desjardins has had his moments of potential, including winning his first two NHL starts with Tampa Bay in 2010-11. After bouncing around a few AHL teams, a former QMJHL teammate of Sidney Crosby with the Remparts, Desjardins has been unable to lock down an NHL starting gig. While he was very likely brought in to be the first guy on call from Hartford in case of injury, his performance (9-18-4, .900 save percentage) with AHL Syracuse last season doesn't exactly instill much confidence.
Desjardins still has NHL potential, but he's now blocked in Tampa by Ben Bishop and Anders Lindback. He looked good last season carrying the AHL Syracuse Crunch all the way to the AHL Finals for the first time in franchise history. He and Riku Helenius will guard the goal for the Crunch this season, but Desjardins could find himself at the end of an NHL bench if one of the Bolts' top dogs gets hurt.
Desjardins inked a one-year, two way deal with Montreal this past July and could battle Petr Budaj for the role of Carey Price's backup this coming season. He played last season in the Colorado organization, posting a 16-11-5 record with a 2.11 goals-against average with Lake Erie (AHL). He last played in the NHL in the 2010-11 season, winning both of his starts with Tampa Bay. Monitor the training camp battle between Desjardins and Budaj, although neither netminder will have terribly much value if Price remains healthy.
Desjardins made his NHL debut last year with the Tampa Bay Lightning, going 2-0 and giving up just one goal in each game, good enough for a .968 save percentage. Signed to a one-year contract with the Avalanche this past July, Desjardins has a tall task to crack the starting goalie spot as he will have to beat out Jean-Sebastian Giguere and Semyon Varlamov in the preseason.
Desjardins looked to headed to Montreal sooner rather than later but that plan was derailed by a trade to Tampa Bay. Unfortunately for the steady twinetender, his path to the NHL is now far more crowded. He has the potential to be an NHL starter if he can continue to build on his success so far and fend off Dustin Tokarski and Jaroslav Janus.
Desjardins had great numbers in the ECHL (16-4-2, 1.90 GAA in 22 games), so we expect him to bump up to the AHL level in 2008 full time. As it stands now, he is the fourth-best goalie in the Canadiens system.
