The Montreal Canadiens entered the season with three goaltenders on their roster, a situation that was finally resolved a few hours before the trade deadline when the team traded Jake Allen to the New Jersey Devils.
Both general managers involved in the deal received their fair share of criticism. The three-headed monster in the Canadiens crease led to tension in the locker room, while the Devils slowly, yet surely lost pace with the teams that were battling to a wild card spot due to having some of the worst goaltending numbers in the NHL.
That being said, Kent Hughes and Tom Fitzgerald were not the only two involved in the deal.
Allen, 33, was given a modified no-trade clause by Hughes when he signed a two-year contract extension in 2022. He listed the Devils among the seven teams on his no-trade list.
Seeing as Allen is on the wrong side of 30, and was already struggling to earn starts with the Canadiens, he was not convinced another three-goalie situation would be beneficial for his career.
Consequently, he blocked the trade.
He eventually acquiesced and accepted a trade to the Devils, which led to the Canadiens receiving a third-round pick while retaining 50 percent of Allen’s salary.
If we set aside the power of hindsight, it’s more than understandable that Allen was hesitant to join a team without a clear goaltending outlook, seeing as he was already being squeezed out of the picture in Montreal.
Besides, he was simply exercising an option that was agreed upon between himself and the team, which is more than fair.
Allen was the perfect teammate during his time with the Montreal Canadiens even as he was relegated to a tertiary role in the organization. He supported the younger goalies who were in the process of taking over his job even though he would have been well within his rights to openly complain about the lack of playing time.
If anything, the decision to extend him early, as well as the inclusion of the modified no-trade clause, was the real issue at play.
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