*Photo from Montreal Hockey Now*
Any goaltending help is a good thing for rebuilding teams. The Montreal Canadiens and G Jake Allen have agreed to a two year, $7.7 million extension, according to an announcement by the Canadiens on Saturday.
Last season in Montreal was the second year for Allen. He ended the regular season with a 9-20-4 record, notching a 3.30 GAA and .905 save percentage, recording two shutouts and 18 quality starts in 35 starts for the Canadiens last season, being limited by injury.
The Canadiens last season finished with the worst record in the NHL, ending the year with a 22-49-11 record. They won the Draft lottery and got the first overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, which they used to select Juraj Slafkovsky. Now, Allen gets a new extension to be the top goalie in Montreal with Carey Price injured.
Allen said of staying in Montreal that "I want to be part of this process, I really do. I think since management, organization changed over last year I really see what they're trying to build here and I want to be a part of it, and I signed up for that and I think that was part of signing the extension here. I feel like I want to leave this jersey in a better spot than when I then I put it on."
Entering this season, Allen has 9 NHL seasons in his career, split between the Canadiens and St. Louis Blues. Allen has a 168-126-35 record, recording a 2.60 GAA and .911 save percentage with 23 shutouts in 333 starts and 20 relief appearances. Allen has a 2.06 GAA and .924 save percentage in 23 career playoff starts and 6 relief appearances.
This season, Allen will play out the second year of his two year contract with Montreal, with a $2.875 million cap hit this season. His new deal starts in 2023-2024 and has $1.5 million in signing bonuses and an AAV of $3.85 million. Allen will be a UFA when the deal expires after the 2024-2025 season.
Allen said that "Nothing changes for me with this contract for things like that from a hockey perspective. We're going to have some young players back there but we've got some savvy veterans as well. I understand where we're trying to go with this team and my job's to try to be a leader back there, be a stable presence in the net and sort of continue what I've been doing the last couple of years here, and nothing really changes from that front for me personally."
This offseason, the Canadiens brought in Kirby Dach, Evgenii Dadonov, and Sean Monahan to add to the team. With Price injured and out for potentially his career, Allen is the clear number one goalie, with Cayden Primeau and Sam Montembeault competing for backup duties.
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