Pending a trade call, goaltender Jake Allen has been traded by the Montreal Canadiens to the New Jersey Devils. The Devils were looking for goaltending help and wanted to bring in a netminder with term. They had been looking at Jacob Markstrom, among others. Ultimately, they pulled the trigger on a deal for Allen. In return, the Canadiens are getting a conditional third-round pick that can become a second based on the number of games Allen plays.
Allen has been rumored in trade talks all season. That said, the Canadiens said they weren’t in a huge rush to trade him, even though they were dealing with three goaltenders in their system. The Canadiens are retaining 50% of Allen’s contract in the deal. That will knock him down to $1.9 million next season. It’s also Montreal’s last salary retention spot.
Allen said he was made aware before the deadline that the Devils had interest in him but that they were also pushing to acquire Markstrom from the Flames. This deal must have been made possible when New Jersey realized that a Markstrom move wasn’t happening.
What Do the Devils Do After Acquiring Allen?
For the Devils, they wanted someone with some cost certainty, but there are questions about how effective Allen will be. It’s possible they look at other options in the offseason and that will leave questions about Allen’s spot next season.
For now, they’ll try to make a playoff push with Allen as their guy and hope that they aren’t too far out of the mix to make a splash.
For the Flames, it appears Markstrom will be staying in Calgary. However, bridges might have been burned between the Flames and Markstrom and he could be dealt at the NHL Draft.
More must-reads: