The New Jersey Devils are acquiring goaltender Jake Allen from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a conditional third-round pick, reports Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli.
Montreal is retaining 50% of Allen's $3.85-million cap hit, knocking his price tag down to $1.9 million. He's under contract for one more season after this one.
The pick can upgrade to a second-rounder if Allen plays 40 or more games in 2024-25, per Seravalli.
The 33-year-old veteran owns an .892 save percentage and 3.65 goals against average to go along with a 6-12-3 record this season for the rebuilding Canadiens.
Montreal has been carrying three goalies all season long - Allen, Sam Montembeault, and Cayden Primeau.
Though the official trade call has yet to be made, Allen spoke about joining the Devils during an appearance on TSN.
"I've known New Jersey has had interest for a while," he said, according to Eyewitness News' Rob Taub. "To make this happen today, I'm really looking forward to the new opportunity and fresh start - to get back into the net and try to get a rhythm again."
Goaltending has been the Devils' biggest weakness this campaign. They rank 30th in the league with a team save percentage of .901 at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick.
None of the three netminders New Jersey has relied on this season - Vitek Vanecek, Akira Schmid, and Nico Daws - have a positive value in goals saved above expected or goals saved above average, according to Evolving-Hockey.
Allen has registered a career .908 save percentage across 416 appearances. He won the Stanley Cup as a member of the St. Louis Blues in 2019.
Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.