{"id":84691,"date":"2020-09-02T12:36:17","date_gmt":"2020-09-02T16:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=84691"},"modified":"2020-09-02T12:36:17","modified_gmt":"2020-09-02T16:36:17","slug":"montreal-canadiens-acquire-jake-allen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2020\/09\/02\/montreal-canadiens-acquire-jake-allen\/","title":{"rendered":"Montreal Canadiens Acquire Jake Allen"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Montreal Canadiens<\/a> have made a trade to acquire goaltender Jake Allen<\/a><\/strong> from the St. Louis Blues<\/a>. The Canadiens will also receive a seventh-round pick in the 2022 Draft in exchange for a third and seventh-rounder for 2020. Elliotte Friedman and the team reported the official deal late Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/FriedgeHNIC\/status\/1301191566724419586?s=20<\/p>\n

Canadiens Acquire Jake Allen<\/h2>\n

Allen was a serviceable backup for the Blues this year. He played in only 24 games but posted a .927 save percentage and 2.15 goals-against-average. Those figures are the best of Allen’s career in the fewest games. St. Louis relied heavily on Jordan Binnington<\/a><\/strong> in 2019-20 but Allen displayed great poise when he made it into games. Allen was also a significantly better postseason goaltender. He had a .935 save percentage and 1.89 goals-against compared to Binnington’s .851 and 4.72, respectively.<\/p>\n

The Blues originally drafted Allen in the second round of the 2008 Draft. The 30-year-old debuted in 2012-13 and has over 280 NHL games of experience. Allen’s career numbers feature a .913 save percentage and 2.50 goals-against. The only goaltender with more games and better numbers from the same draft is Braden Holtby<\/a><\/strong> of the Washington Capitals<\/a>. Allen will take that experience and production to an improving Montreal team for 2020-21. He will be a free agent after next season.<\/p>\n

What This Means For the Future<\/h3>\n

Allen carries a cap hit of $4.35 million for next year but he represents an immediate upgrade for the backup goaltender position. The Canadiens used a handful of backups behind veteran Carey Price<\/a><\/strong> but none of them were very good. Allen’s presence means Montreal can let Keith Kinkaid<\/a><\/strong> walk in free agency. Cayden Primeau<\/a><\/strong> and Charlie Lindgren<\/a><\/strong> are the likely options behind Allen who will start next year in the AHL.<\/p>\n

This move also creates significant space for St. Louis to re-sign two of their key pending free agents. They would have had a difficult time bringing back both Alex Pietrangelo<\/a><\/strong> and Vince Dunn<\/a><\/strong> with Allen’s salary on the books but this gives them more flexibility to do just that. However, it does create a hole at backup goaltender. The team might look for a cheap veteran in free agency or decide it’s time for Ville Husso<\/strong> to debut.<\/p>\n

Main Photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>