HockeyBuzz Hotstove: Thoughts on the Jake Allen trade?

It’s an excellent move. Last time we had a good duo was in the Halak-Price era. While YES, Allen is costly, Habs added a solid 2A or 1B goalie.
Do not forget Allen was their starter in playoff this year and did a pretty solid job.

Habs still has A LOT of money left and time to trade.

Are the Habs better today then they were last season? Yes.
Could the money have been place elsewhere? Yes. But Bergy is NOT done yet and this is only a year left at 4.35. That’s the key.

Let’s see how it goes.
I still believe something is up with the Avalanches. Wait till playoff end.

The Blues are not going to resign Pietrangelo. Everyone needs to let that go. This money is going to be used for Dunn, plain and simple. The Blues signaled as much when they traded for Faulk.

It’s an excellent move. Last time we had a good duo was in the Halak-Price era. While YES, Allen is costly, Habs added a solid 2A or 1B goalie.
Do not forget Allen was their starter in playoff this year and did a pretty solid job.

Habs still has A LOT of money left and time to trade.

Are the Habs better today then they were last season? Yes.
Could the money have been place elsewhere? Yes. But Bergy is NOT done yet and this is only a year left at 4.35. That’s the key.

Let’s see how it goes.
I still believe something is up with the Avalanches. Wait till playoff end.

I'm sure it's safe to assume that Cap Central on this site is out of date, but it shows them only having 2m right now. Domi needs to be resigned or traded and Weise probably comes off the books, but it's not a ton of money from the looks of things...

The 3rd doesn't mean much, probably doesn't turn into anything but I do think Montreal should have been the ones getting it and not giving. Not a big price either way.

The Blues are not going to resign Pietrangelo. Everyone needs to let that go. This money is going to be used for Dunn, plain and simple. The Blues signaled as much when they traded for Faulk.
- Falon

St Louis has always surprised me with how they will ship out important players from their lineup and still stay competitive.

I'm sure it's safe to assume that Cap Central on this site is out of date, but it shows them only having 2m right now. Domi needs to be resigned or traded and Weise probably comes off the books, but it's not a ton of money from the looks of things...

The 3rd doesn't mean much, probably doesn't turn into anything but I do think Montreal should have been the ones getting it and not giving. Not a big price either way.
- mgriffen

Habs have close to 13M available next season with only Domi and Mete to resign.

The money isn't a problem. Never was.

Habs filled a need, paid a small price, especially considering the number of picks they still have... St-Louis gets the cap space they needed.

Win/win.

I'm sure it's safe to assume that Cap Central on this site is out of date, but it shows them only having 2m right now. Domi needs to be resigned or traded and Weise probably comes off the books, but it's not a ton of money from the looks of things...

The 3rd doesn't mean much, probably doesn't turn into anything but I do think Montreal should have been the ones getting it and not giving. Not a big price either way.
- mgriffen

Kinkaid, Weise, Folin are goners. Alzner could be bought out. Domi could be traded.

We have a lot more then 2millions. It’s around 9millions but I’d have to check it out.

As for the 3rd rounder. Do not forget St Louis gave a 2nd and 4th to Habs for Scandella. Something has to give.

Scandella-3rd for 2nd-4th and Allen. It’s pretty deep

Montreal got 1 regulation win from their backup goalies last year. 1. and Price is no longer capable of playing 70 effective games and then having enough left for the playoffs. they need a solid backup to help get them to the playoffs. it's that simple. for people complaining about the cap hit, what do you think you're getting in the $2.5 million range for backups? not guys that can give you 25-30 solid starts.

$15 million on goalies is too much but that's more a function of Price's contract being ridiculous. Bergevin should not neglect that backup position because he overpaid on Price. it was a need, they filled it, and they have tons of cap flexibility in case they can find any decent UFAs willing to come to Montreal.

What? No James Tanner? LMAO FIRED!!

This move is very easy to understand for anyone who knows the ins and out of the Habs situation...harder if you just look at it on the surface from an outsider’s point of view.

The Blues are not going to resign Pietrangelo. Everyone needs to let that go. This money is going to be used for Dunn, plain and simple. The Blues signaled as much when they traded for Faulk.
- Falon

Uhh what?

Uhh what?
- Gerk

I thought about responding but kinda just laughed and then got side tracked and forgot.

The Blues are not going to resign Pietrangelo. Everyone needs to let that go. This money is going to be used for Dunn, plain and simple. The Blues signaled as much when they traded for Faulk.
- Falon

Because you want Pietrangelo on the Leafs doesnt mean the Blues are not gonna resign him.

This 100% frees up money to give Pietrangelo and no one else.

e: also I think the 2 opinions on this post are off limits. This trade is a win/win. Allen comes off the books in 1 year, when the habs will need cap space to resign Danault Petry and co. At this point they are hoping Primeau is ready to take some load off of Price at a very reasonable price (ELC). There are speculations of a condensed schedule.. having 2 capable goalies could be a luxury.

The 3rd wasn,t even theirs it was from the Kovalchuk trade, they got that 3rd for nothing.é They also had too many draft picks and couldnt afford too many contracts so there you go.

On their part Blues free up cap space for their captain to cash in and stay.

Montreal got 1 regulation win from their backup goalies last year. 1. and Price is no longer capable of playing 70 effective games and then having enough left for the playoffs. they need a solid backup to help get them to the playoffs. it's that simple. for people complaining about the cap hit, what do you think you're getting in the $2.5 million range for backups? not guys that can give you 25-30 solid starts.

$15 million on goalies is too much but that's more a function of Price's contract being ridiculous. Bergevin should not neglect that backup position because he overpaid on Price. it was a need, they filled it, and they have tons of cap flexibility in case they can find any decent UFAs willing to come to Montreal.
- DoubleDown

this x100000

No one's suggesting the move doesn't make sense from a "filled need" perspective. What we're confounded by is that they PAID to solve another team's problem. They PAID a 3rd to a team for a guy that team should've had to give up assets to get rid of. It would be like if they had sent a 3rd to Edmonton for Kris Russell. Sure, it's only a 1-year contract and it fills a need (less so in this case, but stick with me) but the point is Bergy HAD leverage that he SHOULD'VE exerted over the Blues to get them to give him a pick instead. Then they'd have even MORE picks and be in the same situation.

That, or they just sign an equivalent or better backup as a UFA and let St Louis squirm some more.

No one's suggesting the move doesn't make sense from a "filled need" perspective. What we're confounded by is that they PAID to solve another team's problem. They PAID a 3rd to a team for a guy that team should've had to give up assets to get rid of. It would be like if they had sent a 3rd to Edmonton for Kris Russell. Sure, it's only a 1-year contract and it fills a need (less so in this case, but stick with me) but the point is Bergy HAD leverage that he SHOULD'VE exerted over the Blues to get them to give him a pick instead. Then they'd have even MORE picks and be in the same situation.

That, or they just sign an equivalent or better backup as a UFA and let St Louis squirm some more.
- MaximumBone

Remember how we flipped Scandella for a 2nd and a 4th?
Maybe it’s just payback.
The 3rd giving was free since we signed Kovalchuk.

It’s mostly Scandella for 2nd,4th and Allen.

We have too many contracts and having too many picks we just be a lost

Agree. This one’s a head scratcher for sure

No one's suggesting the move doesn't make sense from a "filled need" perspective. What we're confounded by is that they PAID to solve another team's problem. They PAID a 3rd to a team for a guy that team should've had to give up assets to get rid of. It would be like if they had sent a 3rd to Edmonton for Kris Russell. Sure, it's only a 1-year contract and it fills a need (less so in this case, but stick with me) but the point is Bergy HAD leverage that he SHOULD'VE exerted over the Blues to get them to give him a pick instead. Then they'd have even MORE picks and be in the same situation.

That, or they just sign an equivalent or better backup as a UFA and let St Louis squirm some more.
- MaximumBone

Sure, let's try our luck with a UFA that will adequately fill a role we desperately need, when the bidding war for the flooded UFA goalie starts, at a cheaper cost. We need a solid 1-2 tandem, NOT a backup that's going to ride the pine for most of the season.

No one's suggesting the move doesn't make sense from a "filled need" perspective. What we're confounded by is that they PAID to solve another team's problem. They PAID a 3rd to a team for a guy that team should've had to give up assets to get rid of. It would be like if they had sent a 3rd to Edmonton for Kris Russell. Sure, it's only a 1-year contract and it fills a need (less so in this case, but stick with me) but the point is Bergy HAD leverage that he SHOULD'VE exerted over the Blues to get them to give him a pick instead. Then they'd have even MORE picks and be in the same situation.

That, or they just sign an equivalent or better backup as a UFA and let St Louis squirm some more.
- MaximumBone

here is where your logic does not work, with his stats AND contract (UFA), for sure there where some other teams interested

Its not next year the habs need cap space is in 2 years, Allen will be gone by then, the 2nd goalie as been a debacle for years, I'm just glad they fixed it. In 2 years I see Primeau there anyway

Because you want Pietrangelo on the Leafs doesnt mean the Blues are not gonna resign him.
- Markiz

Sure I would love him on the Leafs, but it's not gonna happen. He's going to want Doughty money, and he is going to get it. Just not from Toronto.

GM sees his team get shutout in back to back games in the playoffs

GM decides to spend $4.3M in cap space on a player who won't even play in the playoffs

here is where your logic does not work, with his stats AND contract (UFA), for sure there where some other teams interested

Its not next year the habs need cap space is in 2 years, Allen will be gone by then, the 2nd goalie as been a debacle for years, I'm just glad they fixed it. In 2 years I see Primeau there anyway
- Xizord

And they also would've been wrong to not use their leverage against the cap-desperate Blues. Any team desperate for cap space (like the Blues, Oilers, Leafs, and pretty much half the teams in the league) should be exploited by the few teams with cap space. The point made earlier about it maybe being associated with the Scandella trade is the only reasoning I'll concede makes the deal more palatable. Otherwise, any GM who doesn't weaponize their cap space in a league heading into an unexpectedly flat-cap world is foolish.

That bolded portion has nothing to do with my point.

Sure, let's try our luck with a UFA that will adequately fill a role we desperately need, when the bidding war for the flooded UFA goalie starts, at a cheaper cost. We need a solid 1-2 tandem, NOT a backup that's going to ride the pine for most of the season.
- Darksyde

Instead you'll try your luck with a guy who was below league average on a strong defensive team in the two seasons prior to last year and spend a 3rd to do so. Maybe it works out, but the point is he shouldn't give up an asset in this case; if anything, he should be given an asset. Sure, it comes down to what is effectively counting dimes and quarters, but those add up.

They basically gave the blues a free 3rd for one year of a subpar, expensive, back-up goalie. It’s cute that Bergy thinks that his team is magically good and competitive now after winning one Bo5 series

This is one of the most win win trades ever, great for both teams!