The Montreal Canadiens already kicked off their pre-trade deadline moves when they sent Sean Monahan to the Winnipeg Jets. They hope that is only the beginning of what they can sell or get in return for some of their players. Someone that may start to gain traction again is Jake Allen. He started the season very strong, but diminished over time to the point where he was hardly starting. He has put together a couple solid outings recently and there is still time for him to play well before the trade deadline passes in 2024.
The Canadiens would like to finish the 2023-24 season with only two goalies, so Allen is the logical goalie that the team will be moving. In terms of potential suitors, there are two where he could fit as a backup/1b, two spots where Allen could potentially be pushed to a starter role, and one team that is in desperate times right now. These five teams were linked to the Canadiens by Matt Larkin of the Daily Faceoff. Let’s take a look.
Edmonton Oilers
The more the Edmonton Oilers win with Stuart Skinner playing amazing and Calvin Pickard performing well when he’s called upon, the less likely it is that the Oilers are even going to use any assets to acquire help in net. Skinner is 19-2-0 in his past 21 games with a .935 SV% and Pickard is 4-0-0 in his past four starts with a .930 SV%. Unless Pickard and Skinner start to struggle and Allen really picks up his game, it will still take cap retention for the Oilers to consider adding Allen. With another year on his contract, it does provide some security and veteran leadership that Skinner hasn’t been exposed to this season though.
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche just recently waived Ivan Prosvetov and recalled Justus Annunen who has appeared in five total NHL games in his career over the past three seasons. This is not a winning formula for a tandem in net, especially with Alexandar Georgiev not playing close to the level he was at last season. The Avalanche still have a little bit of room to work with, and considering they have injury problems or performance issues in the playoffs a lot when it comes to goaltending, a backup plan is not a bad thing to invest in.
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are in a bad spot in net this season. Vitek Vanecek just hasn’t been good, but Akira Schmid wasn’t much better and was sent down. Nico Daws looked like the saviour in net that Schmid was last season, but has come back down to Earth. The Devils sit outside of a playoff spot, but with some health, could easily go on a run and be playing postseason hockey in a couple months. Allen has a better SV% than all three of the goalies on the Devils this season and is the veteran presence in net that could go a long way in helping turn things around.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes would be in a great spot if everything didn’t go wrong in net this season. Frederik Andersen has missed a lot of time and it doesn’t look like he will be back anytime soon. As for the two healthy goalies, Pyotr Kochetkov is the only one the team should trust.
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He has been strong after his start to the season while Antti Raanta was sent to the AHL for a short period of time because he was ineffective in net. While he is back, he has a .870 SV% on the season and Allen even has a higher SV% than Kochetkov. Since Raanta isn’t exactly working out this season, Allen very well may and the Hurricanes would still have a veteran for Kochetkov to lean on.
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings have been free falling down the standings and Cam Talbot can barely buy a win. David Rittich has been the go-to in net recently, and it smells like a similar scenario to what happened last season. A third-string goalie from the AHL comes in and helps the team out of a tough spot only for them to upgrade before the trade deadline. I don’t think the Kings will move Talbot as he should start to bounce back soon, but they can give him help. Having Rittich as a third-string option again for Talbot and Allen wouldn’t be the worst thing and the Kings need something to get them really going again.
