Canadiens trade goalie Jake Allen to New Jersey Devils

Puts an end to three-goalie rotation with Habs receiving a conditional third-round draft pick that can become a second-round pick.

Montreal GM Kent Hughes traded Jake Allen to New Jersey ahead of Friday’s 3 p.m. NHL trade deadline in exchange for a conditional third-round draft pick in 2025 from the Devils. The third-round pick will become a second-round pick in 2025 if Allen plays 40 or more games next season and if his team (the Devils or another team he might be traded to) qualifies for the 2025 playoffs.

The Canadiens will retain 50 per cent of Allen’s salary for this season and next season. The 33-year-old has one season remaining on his contract with a full salary-cap hit of US$3.85 million.

Allen only played in 21 games this season with the Canadiens as they carried three goalies, including Samuel Montembeault and Cayden Primeau. Allen posted a 6-12-3 record with a 3.65 goals-against average and a .892 save percentage.

Montembeault has a 13-11-5 record with a 3.14 GAA and a .905 save percentage, while Primeau is 5-6-2 with a 3.04 GAA and a .901 save percentage. Hughes decided to carry three goalies this season because he believed he would lose Primeau to another NHL team on waivers if he tried to send the 24-year-old down to the AHL’s Laval Rocket.

Hughes thanked all three goalies for their professionalism during a difficult situation when he met with the media Friday afternoon in Brossard.

“Jake has been so professional from the time that I got here in his efforts and concerns weren’t just around Jake Allen and his performance in net,” Hughes said. “He’s taken ownership of this team in trying to help us put it in the right direction for what we want to accomplish, knowing that he wouldn’t be here for it, whether we kept him for the remainder of his contract or not. So I can’t say enough good things about Jake.

“He was great in net for us, he was great in the locker room, he was a great leader and he was a great member of the community and he’s going to be missed,” the GM added.

There had been trade talk surrounding Allen basically all season and he was looking forward to Friday’s deadline finally coming.

“At the end of the day, trust me, I’ll be happy when Friday’s over,” Allen told reporters in Nashville on Monday.

Allen played his final game with the Canadiens Tuesday night in Nashville, making 25 saves in a 4-3 overtime victory over the Predators.

During an interview with TVA Sports shortly after news of the trade broke Friday, Allen was asked what he learned this season while part of a three-goalie system.

“I think I learned I’m a very patient person,” he said with a bit of a chuckle. “That’s what I learned. I’m very patient, can get along with others well. But I think it was a time for me to try to get back to my game, try to build my game up again with this opportunity to get back in a situation that I can play and get going again.

“It was tough for all of us, no question,” he added. “I think the guys (Montembeault and Primeau) should be very proud the way they handled themselves. I think they played some really good hockey for this group throughout this year and I see a lot of good things. They have a really bright future between the two of them and I will be following them closely.”

The Canadiens have a 24-29-10 record and will miss the playoffs for the third straight season. The Devils have a 31-28-4 record and are six points out of a wild-card playoff spot. The Devils traded former Canadien Tyler Toffoli to the Winnipeg Jets on Friday in exchange for a third-round draft pick in 2024 and a second-round pick in 2025.

Goaltending has been a big problem this season for the Devils, who fired head coach Lindy Ruff on Monday and replaced him with Travis Green on an interim basis. Vitek Vanecek has a 17-9-3 record with a 3.18 GAA and a .890 save percentage. Nico Daws has a 9-10-0 record with a 3.32 GAA and a .890 save percentage. Akira Schmid has a 5-9-1 record with a 3.15 GAA and a .895 save percentage.

The Devils traded Vanecek to the San Jose Sharks just before Friday’s deadline in exchange for goalie Kaapo Kahkonen.

Allen said the three-goalie system in Montreal wasn’t easy for anyone, but that they all made the best of the situation.

“It was all out of our control,” Allen told TVA Sports. “We just had to come to the rink every day and work and prepare for whenever our name was called to play. Sometimes there were longer breaks than others, but that’s just the nature of the situation.

“Sam’s had a really good year this year and deserves the opportunity to play more than he has,” Allen added. “That’s my belief from my perspective … try to play three or four games a week. Try to get into that upper echelon of goalies and I believe that (this is) the opportunity to do that and for Cayden to get the opportunity to play more and grow more. … It wasn’t easy but, at the same time, that’s the cards we were dealt and we had to play the hand that we got. Now we all are back to a normal goalie system and see where it goes.”