Whatever Happened to ex-Canadiens Goalie Cristobal Huet?

Cristobal Huet’s time in Montreal still feels special to a lot of Canadiens fans. The French goalie showed up, played with real poise, and for a couple of seasons looked like he could be the guy. Then in February 2008, the Canadiens traded him to Washington. Carey Price was coming, and the organization decided it was time to hand over the net.

Huet helped the Capitals get into the postseason.

Huet didn’t sulk. He went to the Capitals and immediately played well, posting an 11-2 record and helping them sneak into the playoffs. That summer he cashed in, signing a four-year, $22-million deal with the Chicago Blackhawks. It looked like the next chapter was going to be even bigger.

It didn’t quite work out that way. Huet had a solid first year in Chicago, but by 2009-10 Antti Niemi had taken the starting job. Huet still got his name on the Stanley Cup that spring. He was the first French-born player ever to do it. However, he only played in one playoff game. The following summer, the Blackhawks had salary-cap problems and loaned him to Fribourg in Switzerland. He never played another NHL game.

Huet built a good hockey life in Europe.

Many players would have been bitter. Huet just kept working. He played two strong seasons with Fribourg before moving to Lausanne HC in 2012. He spent six years there, became a club legend, and eventually had his number retired. At the same time, he kept showing up for France, suiting up for 13 World Championships and two Olympics. He finally hung up the pads after the 2017-18 season at age 42.

These days Huet is still around the game, just in a different role. He’s the goalie coach for Lausanne and also works with the French national team. Last year, he even launched his own consulting business, helping young goalies and speaking with companies about performance and life after sport. He lives in Switzerland now, holds dual citizenship, and his son Ewan is following in his footsteps as a goalie.

Huet is another of those players who found a hockey home outside the NHL.

It wasn’t the long NHL career people might have expected after those Montreal years. But Huet handled the second half of his journey with the same quiet class he showed in the crease. From the Bell Centre to a Stanley Cup ring to a second career on the other side of the Atlantic, he carved out a pretty complete hockey life. Not flashy. Just solid. Exactly how many people remember him.