After years of debating and speculation, the St. Louis Blues chose their starting goaltender in Jake Allen who signed a brand new four-year extension. Allen has earned a promotion of sorts. There’s no longer any debate on who the Blues will ride on when the puck drops for the 2016-17 season. Though with the new deal comes added pressure. No longer do the Blues or Jake Allen for that matter have veteran Brian Elliott waiting in the wings. It was a great luxury to have when you look down the lineup have a two “plan A” options for net. But on a team where the youth has taken over, Allen has a big season in front of him.
The Blues did add a backup to their squad in Carter Hutton, who has spent the vast majority of his NHL career as a backup. Having just played 20 games last season, that’s both regular and post-season combined.
Young Jake Allen Solid Thus Far
Allen has had what you would consider success at all stages of his career. But at 26, he has only played over 60 games just once as a professional back in 2013-14 for the Chicago Wolves in the AHL. The grind of a season and the new responsibility of being the undisputed starter can affect a player in a slew of ways. This is not to say Allen is expected to struggle this coming year. In 47 regular season games last year, he did put up a .920 save percentage. Goaltenders do not exactly play at the level on accident. But how Allen handles his new role will be one of the more interesting questions for St. Louis this season.
So why are Blues fans so divided? Why is a former U18 gold medalist and U20 silver medalist not seen as good enough? It could be due to the fact Brian Elliott had the second best season of his entire career, virtually carrying the team to a Western Conference Final. The former Jennings Trophy winner in 2011 had a season to remember putting up the league’s best save percentage. It is a hard sell to look at a player who was so vital to a squad and decide to ship him off for a second round draft pick. The pick ended up being used on Jordan Kyrou, a solid two player on the Sarnia Sting of the OHL. Kyrou has the ability to play both at center and wing. Depending on the scouting report, Kyrou is a breakout star in the making or just flash with no substance when he eventually plays against men. Time will tell.
Blues Goalie Logjam Forming
Despite the division among the fanbase, there is one important thing on Allen’s side, and that is time. Not in that he’s a placeholder for someone to take his job. But more room to grow, we haven’t seen everything Allen is capable of just yet. It also gives management more breathing room when it comes to the Blues goalie pool. Does it need some tinkering? There seems to be a bit of a logjam when it comes to young netminders. Jordan Binnington a 2011 third round draft pick and Pheonix Copley are both sitting on one-year deals coming into the new season. Neither had stellar years, putting up similar stats. Binnington posted a .907 save percentage in 41 games while Copley in almost copycat fashion had a .909 save percentage in 37 games respectively. Though part of the blame can be put on the team playing in front of them. The Chicago Wolves were not exactly fun to watch last year. But there is a new wrinkle to the Blues goalie pool, the new prospect to watch Ville Husso is making his debut in North America. The 2014 fourth-round draft pick most recently was named the SM-Liiga goalie of the year this past season and already being seen as the Blues future starter. Where Husso plays his first season in North America could cause management to make a roster move among the goalies.
Allen’s Time is Now
Bringing this back to the theme of time, the Blues have plenty of it. Jake Allen is now tied up for the next five years with a cap hit of $4,350,000. Putting that many years into a player shows confidence. The Blues management believe in Allan and it is a long past the debate of whether moving Brian Elliott was the right move for the Blues. The new chapter in the story is if Jake Allen is up for the challenge.
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