Achi news desk-
Jake Allen loved being a member of the Montreal Canadiens.
The hockey-mad market, the Bell Center on Saturday nights, the iconic logo of the Original Six franchise.
The 33-year-old goalkeeper is also realistic.
With the Canadiens still in full rebuild mode — and two young netminders in Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau poised for more playing time — Allen could see the writing on the wall.
Desperate for help in their own crease, the New Jersey Devils asked Montreal if the veteran was available. But general manager Tom Fitzgerald told reporters earlier this month that he was initially on Allen’s no-trade list.
There was nothing the Fredericton product didn’t like about the organization or the city. It simply seemed that the Devil’s crease was set for years to come.
But when the club that finished with 112 points and clinched the second round of the playoffs in 2022-23 was badly hampered by the poor play of Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws and Akira Schmid – each netminder had save percentages below .900 – the Devils circled back.
And Allen had changed his tune.
“I loved my time as a Hab,” he said of pulling on Montreal’s red, white and blue threads. “I will always love that. Wear probably the most special jersey in hockey, in my books. But you realize in your career, it doesn’t last forever.
“Sometimes you have to make decisions.”
Allen, who is signed through next season, eventually agreed to a deal that sent him to New Jersey before the March 8 NHL trade deadline for a conditional third-round pick in the 2025 draft.
Aside from playing meaningful hockey on a team trying to claw its way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race, the trade gave him more runway to get his family settled in a new city instead of waiting to see what the goalie market might do. crowded this summer offer.
“Sometimes you have to be a little selfish,” said Allen, a Stanley Cup champion with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. “Look at yourself in the mirror and wonder what is best for you and your family.”
He has been very good to his new team.
Allen was shutout in the first period on Tuesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, making a stunning 25 saves in what would become a 6-3 victory in New Jersey.
So far he’s 4-2-0 with a .925 save percentage and 2.51 goals-against average in six starts for the Devils, who sit five points back of the East’s second wild-card spot.
“Real problem,” interim head coach Travis Green said.
Allen is a combined 10-14-3 in 2023-24 with a .900 save percentage and a 3.39 GAA. Across his 11 seasons with St. Louis, Montreal and now New Jersey, he is 193-164-41 with a .908 save percentage and 2.75 GAA.
“Making the saves we need to get some momentum back,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “If you have a solid goalie in the net, that makes your job easier.”
Allen is also 11-12 with a .924 and 2.06 GAA all-time in the playoffs – a good sign for his new club should New Jersey make the cut.
For now, though, he’s enjoying being back in a postseason race.
“I thought this was a good opportunity to come in the rest of this year, play some games,” Allen said.
“It’s been a good start.”
This report was first published by The Canadian Press on March 28, 2024.
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Follow @JClipperton_CP on X.
Joshua Clipperton, Canadian Press
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