When GM Marc Bergevin held a video conference with the media the day after the Canadiens were eliminated by the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the NHL playoffs, he said one of his priorities for next season was to find a capable backup for Carey Price.
“We’ll look at improving that position of backup goalie,” Bergevin said. “It’s important Carey gets a break.”
Bergevin didn’t waste any time finding a new backup, acquiring Jake Allen in a trade with the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday.
The Canadiens also get a seventh-round pick at the 2022 NHL Draft from the Blues, while sending a third-round pick and a seventh-round pick at this year’s draft to St. Louis.
Allen, 30, played 24 games with the Blues this season, posting a 12-6-3 record with a 2.15 goals-against average, a .927 save percentage and two shutouts as the backup to Jordan Binnington. Allen also made five playoff appearances, posting a 2-1-1 record with a 1.89 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage.
The Fredericton, N.B., native played two seasons in the QMJHL with the Montreal Juniors. The Blues selected Allen in the second round (34th overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft.
“It’s funny … I’ve come full circle now,” Allen said about returning to Montreal during a conference call Wednesday afternoon. “Playing for the Montreal Juniors in Verdun and then playing in the NHL against the Canadiens and at the Bell Centre. It’s wild how it’s all sort of come and reinvented itself. But I’ve had a few experiences in the building and I lived in the city for a couple of years. I get I was a teenager (in junior) and didn’t really know everything in the whole world, but definitely some familiarity about it. Still have some people I keep in touch with in the city, and it’s a place that I’m more familiar with than most others in the league. I think it’s definitely going to give me a sense of comfort.”
Allen has one season remaining on his four-year, US$17.4-million contract with a $4.35 million salary-cap hit. Combined with Price’s $10.5 million salary-cap hit next season, the Canadiens will be spending $14.85 million on the goalie position, the most in the NHL, according to CapFriendly.com . That works out to 18.2 per cent of the team’s salary-cap total for next season.
Bergevin obviously believes it’s worth paying Allen to not only have confidence in giving Price a night off now and then, but also as insurance in case of an injury to the No. 1 goalie. It also gives 21-year-old Cayden Primeau more time to develop with the AHL’s Laval Rocket.
The 6-foot-2, 203-pound Allen has a career NHL record of 148-94-26 with a 2.50 goals-against average, a .915 save percentage and 21 shutouts. He also has a Stanley Cup ring from last season.
Bergevin has struggled in the past to find an adequate backup for Price. Last summer, the GM signed free agent Keith Kinkaid to a one-year, US$1.75-million contract and he turned out to be a total bust. Kinkaid was sent to Laval in December after posting a 1-1-3 record with a 4.24 goals-against average and a .875 save percentage.
Price ended up playing in 58 games, tied with the Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck for the most in the NHL.
Canadiens coach Claude Julien also said last week that finding a capable backup for Price was a priority for next season.
“We really feel that Carey — when he’s well rested, as you saw, and he’s healthy — he’s an unbelievable goaltender,” Julien said in a video conference. “And, as you can see, two teams that have had a fair amount of success (the Boston Bruins and New York Islanders) are able to rely on almost a two-goalie tandem.
“We’re not saying that Carey should be splitting games,” Julien added. “I think we need to take some of the workload off of Carey a little bit so that we can get the Carey Price that we saw in the playoffs more often than not. I think we’re going to definitely be looking to make sure that whoever is coming and backing up Carey will be able to do that for us.”
Price, 33, had a 27-25-6 record during the regular season with a 2.79 goals-against average, a .909 save percentage and four shutouts. In 10 postseason games, he had a 5-5 record with a 1.78 goals-against average, a .936 save percentage and two shutouts.
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