Maybe the Habs really will get a second pick for Jake Allen after all!

For months, Kent Hughes refused to trade Jake Allen for a bad price. He knew he had a goalie who was worth more than a seventh-round pick in three years.

The goalie was still a good mentor.

The GM was aware that the goalie’s contract extension came at a… generous price, but he still wanted to maximize the return on his veteran in the event of a trade.

Seeing him get a conditional second (or third) pick in 2025 by retaining half of the goalie’s $3.85-million-a-year contract for another year and a half was considered an excellent price.

We even wondered what the Devils had in mind when they made the deal.

That said, when you look at the transaction in hindsight, you realize that the Devils clearly knew what they were doing in acquiring Allen.

After all, since he’s been with the Devils, he’s simply been on fire.

A 3-1 record in four games means not only that he’s playing well, but also that he’s playing twice a week. It’s almost as if it does him good to play regularly.

His 1.76 average, .946 efficiency rate and seven goals allowed in four games are not sustainable numbers, of course: everyone knows that.

But right now, he needs to take advantage of them to regain his confidence, but also to set his sights on next year.

After all, we know that the Devils’ plan is to make Allen a #2 goalie next year by getting a big goalie… but that doesn’t mean they’ll succeed. Sometimes it’s hard to make trades. #JacobMarkstrom

If the prices aren’t right this summer for goaltenders and Allen wowed the gallery at the end of the campaign, he could play on his bosses’ minds to try to convince them to give him more responsibility next year.

And Kent Hughes must want Allen to play 40 games and take the Devils to the playoffs, just to turn the third-round pick he got in the deal into a second-round pick in 2025.

I say this in jest, knowing that Allen won’t meet the conditions to change the pick upwards for the Habs. But the way he’s playing, the Devils have no choice but to consider him for a big role next year.

He’s also playing better than Samuel Montembeault at the moment. The conditions aren’t the same and the Habs probably don’t regret their choice, but it’s worth noting.

In gusto

– Rafaël Harvey-Pinard must now go through the waivers to (potentially) go to Laval. That won’t happen, since he’s in Montreal to stay, until proven otherwise.

– John Kordic would have been 59 years old today.

– Habs group believes in free festivals. [La Presse]

– He deserves it.