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.
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.