Jake Allen Not Making It Easy For Montreal Canadiens To Trade Him

The Montreal Canadiens entered the season with a three goaltender system and no exact plan on how to fix it.

They knew they didn't want to put Cayden Primeau on waivers, but did he have any trade value? He has played well, and well enough that the Canadiens just want to keep the 24 year old in the organization.

Ever since Sam Montembeault signed his three year extension on December 1st, the obvious desire for the Canadiens is to trade Jake Allen. The veteran netminder is a great teammate by all accounts and has played some reliable hockey in his career, but he just isn't in the long term plans like Montembeault and Primeau.

The problem is, since Montembeault signed that contract, Allen has not made it easy for the Canadiens to move him. He has won just two games since the first of November and the numbers are pretty bleak in the new year.

Since the calendar flipped to 2024, Allen has played seven games for the Canadiens, winning just one. Somehow it came against the stacked Colorado Avalanche. That game, and an overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins were the only two games where Allen has a save percentage above .900 in his seven starts this calendar year.

In those seven games, Allen has allowed at least three goals in every one of them, and has a goals against average of 4.19 in that time. His save percentage of .872 over those past two months is not a very attractive number for a contending team to consider adding him right now.

There are plenty of teams out there that would like an upgrade in goal. This list includes Stanley Cup contenders like the Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, and Carolina Hurricanes.

But with other goaltenders like Jacob Markstrom and Jusse Saros possibly available, Allen's availability is not all that enticing for buyers. It would be great if the Canadiens could unclog the three goalie logjam, but don't expect many offers for Allen before the trade deadline.