Montreal Canadiens Acquire Jake Allen From St. Louis Blues
The Montreal Canadiens have made their first move of the offseason in the form of acquiring goaltender Jake Allen from the St. Louis Blues. Allen played four games in the playoffs, recording a 2-1-1 record with a .935 SV%.
Upon the Montreal Canadiens elimination to the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Marc Bergevin had much to say in his end-of-year presser. One such topic he covered was the fact the organization was making it a priority to acquire a backup goaltender to reduce the number of games Carey Price would have to play during the regular season. It looks like Marc Bergevin has already lived up to his word; however, it remains to be seen if this move will pay dividends.
On Wednesday, the Montreal Canadiens announced that the acquisition of goaltender Jake Allen and a 7th-round pick in 2022 from the St. Louis Blues in return for a 3rd and 7th round pick in 2020.
https://twitter.com/CanadiensMTL/status/1301191502517989376
The 30-year old netminder has a year remaining on his contract with an AAV of $4.35 million. The Canadiens will retain the full salary in the trade. While it may seem concerning that the Canadiens have $15 million in net, given the amount of cap space they already possess, Allen’s deal ending next season and more moves likely on the horizon, there is not much to worry about in that department.
In 24 games played in the 2019-20 regular season, Jake Allen 12-6-3 record and a .927 SV%. In the playoffs, Allen played four games, going 2-1-1 in that span whilst also reaching a .935 SV%.
As mentioned in the Montreal Canadiens announcement, the draft picks used to acquire Jake Allen were acquired in the trade that sent Ilya Kovalchuk to the Washington Capitals (2020 3rd round pick) and in the Andrew Shaw trade to the Chicago Blackhawks (2020 7th round pick). Smart asset management was demonstrated in this deal.
On paper, Jake Allen is one of the more reliable backups Carey Price has had in a long while. If Allen maintains a consistent level of play for the Canadiens, Price may be given ample time to rest as he will play a reduced amount of games in the process, allowing him to be more effective in the long-run. As seen in the playoffs, a rested Carey Price is still one of the best goaltenders in the NHL and can steal games for the Montreal Canadiens.