Canadiens: Jake Allen Trade Marks Return to Solid Backup, Relief for Price
Jake Allen has seen a lot of changes this year. However, with his recent trade to the Montreal Canadiens, they might finally have their solid backup option.
For Jake Allen, stability is something he hasn’t been too familiar with as of late. The same can be said for the Montreal Canadiens. From losing the starting job last season to third-stringer Jordan Binnington to settling into a role as a solid backup and veteran presence this season, to outplaying Binnington in this year’s playoffs, the situation in the Blues net was a complicated one.
Binnington’s confidence, and to an extent, arrogance regarding his abilities, is one that hockey fans had become familiar with since last season when he led the Blues from dead last in the Western Conference to a Stanley Cup Championship.
Posting a sparkling 1.89 GAA in the regular season, and a 16-win performance in the postseason, the Blues are now seemingly set on Binnington as their starter for the foreseeable future, and in the process, have given Habs fans something that’s been sorely missing in recent years.
This Wednesday, the Blues traded Allen, and a seventh-round pick in 2022, to the Canadiens in exchange for a third and seventh-round pick in 2020. With this, the Blues starting job is Binnington’s to lose, with either AHL starter Ville Husso or a free agent acquisition set to take on the backup’s role. For the Canadiens, it gives them a solid backup for the first time in nearly four years.
My colleague Emmanuel did a piece last year on the recent track record for backups in Montreal, and its something I have also touched upon in other publications. Ever since fan-favourite Peter Budaj was traded to the Winnipeg Jets in October of 2015, the Habs have used eight different goaltenders to backup starter Carey Price. The last arguably reliable one was former 2004 first rounder Al Montoya, who in 2016-17, posted an 8-6-4 record as Montreal finished first in their division with a 47-26-3 record.
Since then, however, no one has managed to make much of a splash, with Antti Niemi’s impressive 2017-18 season being drowned out by a horrendous 2018-19 season. Former New Jersey Devils starter Keith Kinkaid was expected to play the backup’s role this year but hadn’t played in nearly half a year, and it showed. After being placed on waivers, Kinkaid hit the ultimate of lows when the Laval Rocket reassigned him to the Charlotte Checkers, as his struggles continued in the AHL.
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Charlie Lindgren didn’t perform much better as an emergency backup, as Price has taken most of if not all the starts these past two seasons. While his performance has been fantastic at times, it’s been shaky at others, and at 32 years old, some relief is needed.
KHL signing Vasili Demchenko looks promising but isn’t a sure-fire option, and rookie Cayden Primeau still needs development. With Allen, the Canadiens should finally have their answer and give Price a solid, reliable backup option for the first time in years.
A second-round pick of the Blues in the 2008 NHL entry draft, Allen slowly but surely assumed the starter’s role as the team’s two goalie tandem of Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliot was slowly fizzled out. By 2016-17, Allen had assumed the starter’s role, playing in 61 games with Carter Hutton as his backup.
However, after a disappointing 2017-18 season, and a 19-17 record in 2018-19, he lost the starting job to Binnington but has performed very well in a reduced role. At his core, Allen is a solid NHL goaltender and still has a few more years left in him at 30 years old. He’s recorded 20 wins or more in a season 4 times and has a career GAA of 2.49.
For Montreal, Allen should be able to ease a lot of pressure off Price and doesn’t have the little bits of uncertainty that came with the Kinkaid signing. He’s proven himself as a solid option and has played a consistent NHL role over these last few seasons, unlike former backups like Niemi and Kinkaid.
Look for him to play the standard 20-30 games as Price takes most starts, and possibly play a more increased role should Price come down with an injury or is need of a more significant rest.
Price has made it very aware that he’s not the biggest fan of competition in net, and I find that Allen is the perfect middle ground. A solid former starter turned equally solid, if not more so backup. Overall, I find this trade to be a great one for the Habs, and possibly one of the best Bergevin has made in a while, at least at first glance.
For St. Louis, the team better hope Binnington can become more than just his Stanley Cup Run, as with the loss of Allen, the Blues are most likely banking solely on Binnington to lead them to the playoffs once more, should the NHL season resume.
Next. The Montreal Canadiens are going for it. dark
Stability is something Canadiens fans have been missing in their backups recently, and Jake Allen finally looks to fill that hole. As the Canadiens off-season gets underway, it seems as though big things are in the works, and this stable acquisition is a solid start.