Canadiens GM Hughes breaks up three-goalie logjam by trading Allen to Devils

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen makes the save against the New Jersey Devils during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Kent Hughes searched for months to break up his team’s unusual three-goalie logjam.

As the trade deadline neared, that opportunity finally opened up.

The Montreal Canadiens general manager sent goaltender Jake Allen to the New Jersey Devils for a 2025 conditional third-round draft pick in his only trade on NHL deadline day.

"We had been talking with teams for months,” Hughes said Friday at CN Sports Complex, the Canadiens’ practice facility. “But it's really this week that we received offers."

The pick could become a second-round selection if Allen plays in 40 or more games for New Jersey next season. The Canadiens retained 50 per cent of Allen’s US$3.85 million salary through next season.

The 33-year-old Allen had a .892 save percentage, a 3.65 goals-against average and a 6-12-3 record in 21 starts in Montreal this season while splitting the crease with Sam Montembeault (27) and Cayden Primeau (24), both of whom are on one-way contracts.

Montembeault, with a .905 save percentage, has steadily grown into a solid starter over 30 games this season and signed a three-year, US$9.45-million contract extension in December.

Meanwhile, Primeau put up a solid .901 in 14 starts. Hughes said the Canadiens believed they would have lost the young netminder on waivers had they solved the three-goalie system by sending him to the minors.

As a result, Allen was the odd man out.

"Cayden did well and led us to feel more comfortable that he was ready for more regular NHL action,” Hughes said. “Given where we are, and the age difference of the three goalies, Jake became the more likely candidate to be traded.”

Otherwise, Hughes kept his rebuilding team intact on deadline day as Montreal moves toward missing the playoffs for a third straight season.

The Canadiens did their biggest piece of business well ahead of Friday, trading centre Sean Monahan — a pending unrestricted free agent — to the Winnipeg Jets on Feb. 2 in exchange for a first-round draft pick and a conditional third.

After that, Hughes wasn’t under pressure to have a fire sale with forward Tanner Pearson the only pending UFA on Montreal’s active roster.

There likely wasn’t much of a market for Pearson, either. The 31-year-old winger has five goals and six assists in 44 games this season and has an history with injuries.

Veteran defenceman David Savard saw his name circulate the rumour mill in recent weeks, but remains under contract at US$3.5 million next season.

Hughes said the Canadiens never intended to trade the 33-year-old leader from Saint-Hyacinthe, Que., who ranks fourth on the team in ice time (20:32).

“For us, David is part of the team, he’s not someone we were looking to trade,” Hughes said. “His value to our team on the ice, his value to our young defencemen is very important to us.

"That’s not to say he was untradeable, but that wasn’t our objective.”

Forward Joel Armia was another potential trade target. But the 30-year-old Finn has one year remaining on his contract at US$3.5 million.

“Not everything we do can be strictly based on maximizing asset value,” Hughes said. “Ultimately we’re trying to build a hockey team, and if a player has value to us in terms of what were trying to build … then that’s going to trump trading that player at a later point for something a little bit inferior."

Montreal made a minor-league move on Thursday, acquiring forward Jacob Perreault from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for centre Jan Mysak.

On Friday, the Canadiens sent forward Joshua Roy and defenceman Jayden Struble to affiliate Laval as a paper transaction to make them eligible for the American Hockey League playoffs.

The Canadiens are second-last in the Atlantic Division standings, 14 points behind the Eastern Conference’s playoff cutline. They host the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre on Saturday.

"We're trying to make decisions for the right reasons. And in order to do that, that requires patience,” Hughes said. "I look forward to the day that we're buying, not selling. I'm as competitive as the next person, I want to feel the highs and lows of winning and losing that come when you're expected to compete for a Stanley Cup.

“The faster that it can happen, the better off it is. I'd like to be around for it. But I don't want to do it at the expense of doing it the right way."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 8, 2024.