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Montreal Canadiens

Canadiens Acquire Goaltender Jake Allen, Help Blues and Pietrangelo?

The Montreal Canadiens have acquired goaltender Jake Allen from the St. Louis Blues.

It was announced on Wednesday that the Montreal Canadiens have acquired another goaltender, landing Jake Allen from the St. Louis Blues, along with a 2022 seventh-round pick. In exchange, the Blues will receive a 2020 third-round selection (formerly from Washington) and a 2020 seventh-round pick (formerly from Chicago).

Key to note, the Blues have not retained any of Allen’s $4.35 million cap hit for next season in the trade.

That the Canadiens added another pricy goaltender means they will have close to $15 million their current cap taken from their goaltending tandem of Allen and Carey Price. Price, of course, is well known for being one of the best goaltenders in the NHL, but among the most expensive with a $10.5 million price tag. He’s also among the netminders who gets played the most often and could use a quality backup.

And, that the Canadiens could have gone out in the free agent market to grab a goaltender at half the price is going to be seen as a head-scratcher for some. Still, Allen is a very good netminder. He  recorded a .927 save percentage in 24 appearances this past season and took over in net for a struggling Jordan Binnington. Allen posted a .935 save percentage in five playoff appearances.

Some are asking if there’s a chance that Allen gets flipped in a deal? The answer is, who knows? This offseason is bound to get crazy.

Making Room for Pietrangelo

Most will see this as a cap clearing move to make space for defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who is this year’s hottest and likely most expensive unrestricted free agent.

There was a lot of talk lately that Pietrangelo was going to consider his options if the Blues couldn’t meet his lofty contract demands. He’s expected to get between $8.5 and $10 million per season on a contract extension.

End of the Line For Domi

At the same time, if the Canadiens keep this much cap committed to their goaltending, it seems like a foregone conclusion that someone like Max Domi will be moved instead of qualifying him at over $3 million and extending him to a new deal.

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