The Montreal Canadiens have a busy stretch of games coming up as they will play five times in the next eight days. They will get quite familiar with one division rival as four of those contests are against the Ottawa Senators.
With 41 players still in training camp trying to make the team, at least they have enough bodies around to change the lineup a few times.
While they are busy on the ice, and the management team has their work cut out for them trying to pick the final 23 man roster, general manager Kent Hughes is still working on contracts as well.
Canadiens extend veteran goalie for two years
The team announced this morning that they have come to terms on a contract extension with Jake Allen. The veteran goaltender has played the past two seasons in Montreal, and is heading into the final year of his current contract.
However, the 32 year old will now be in Montreal for a lot longer than just the upcoming season. The Fredericton native has agreed to a two-year contract extension with the club.
His new deal will cover the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. Allen will have a cap hit of $3.85 million for each of those years, after earning $2.875 million against the cap in the upcoming season.
This will allow the veteran goaltender, and terrific teammate to stick around and mentor Cayden Primeau, who just signed his own three year contract and will likely be playing in the NHL in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. Having a proven experienced goalie like Allen to show him the ropes is a good fir for a young goalie like Primeau.
Allen will likely get the bulk of starts this season, splitting time with Sam Montembeault in the Habs crease. Allen played 35 games last season, putting up a 3.30 GAA and a .905 SV% in those contests.
Those numbers may not jump off the page, but he put in some Herculean efforts behind a terrible and unorganized defensive team last season.
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