Allen: The market is crazy, but Elliotte Friedman doesn’t think his price is astronomical

At some point, you’d think Kent Hughes would trade one of his goalies.

I say you’d think, because we all said that was the GM’s plan a few months ago. But here we are on January 1, 2024… And things haven’t changed in front of the net since the start of the campaign.

What you need to know is that some teams are looking for a goaltender to improve their respective fortunes. The Oilers, the Leafs, the Hurricanes, the Devils…

All these clubs have been the subject of several rumours lately. But none of them has had the audacity to make a move, and the reason is simple: the goaltending market is “crazy”, as Elliotte Friedman called it in a recent episode of his 32 Thoughts podcast.

Although the market is intense, he doesn’t think Kent Hughes is asking an astronomical price for his veteran.

I don’t think Allen’s price is as high as Gibson’s in Anaheim. – Elliotte Friedman

Friedman goes on to say that it’s interesting because Kent Hughes is playing his cards right. Teams don’t know which way the Habs want to go, but the Montreal GM still has to be careful or he could get burned:

It’s interesting because there’s something to remember in all this.

If his price isn’t necessarily astronomical and he’s still wearing the Montreal Canadiens’ colors at the time of writing, it means that the various NHL teams are really scared of his contract.

Allen earns a salary of $3.85 million per season, but his contract expires at the end of the 24-25 season, and therein lies the problem. Clubs don’t want to handcuff themselves to their payroll by going after a #4 goalie who earns almost $4M a season, and that makes sense in a way.

Every penny counts, after all…

Jake Allen has NHL experience and has even won a Stanley Cup, but that obviously doesn’t make him a player in demand on the market. Kent Hughes will trade him when he gets the price he wants (what that price might be is anyone’s guess, by the way), and until then, it’s time to take advantage of what he can bring to the Montreal Canadiens’ young roster.

Sure, it would be nice to trade him tomorrow to give Primeau room to develop, but it doesn’t work that way. Kent Hughes must maximize his assets.

In bursts

– It goes without saying!

– Enjoy your reading.

– Well-deserved.

– Wow!