- Source: Jake Allen (ice hockey)
Jake Allen (born August 7, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the second round, 34th overall, by the St. Louis Blues in the 2008 NHL entry draft and won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019. Allen has also previously played for the Montreal Canadiens.
Playing career
= Amateur
=Allen was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, and played for the Midget "AAA" Fredericton Canadiens before being selected in the third round of the 2007 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) draft by the St. John's Fog Devils. After one season with the Fog Devils, Allen was chosen to play for Canada under-18 team in the 2008 World U18 Championships where he won gold and was named both top goaltender and tournament's most valuable player (MVP). In 2008, the Fog Devils were sold and relocated to Verdun, a Montreal suburb, becoming the Montreal Junior Hockey Club. In December 2009, Allen represented Canada junior team in the 2010 World Junior Championships, winning silver after posting four wins and one subsequent loss in the final to the United States junior team. Allen was traded to the Drummondville Voltigeurs following the World Juniors tournament, and posted a record of 18 wins and three losses with a .933 save percentage and 1.75 goals against average (GAA). He was named the recipient of the Jacques Plante Memorial Trophy as goaltender of the year in the QMJHL in 2009–10.
= Professional
=St. Louis Blues
On October 22, 2008, Allen was signed by the St. Louis Blues to an entry-level contract. He made his NHL debut during the Stanley Cup playoffs on April 30, 2012, coming in to briefly relieve Brian Elliott late in the Blues' second game against the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference semifinals. During the shortened 2012–13 season, Allen was recalled to the Blues and recorded his first NHL start and win in a 4–3 overtime victory over the Detroit Red Wings on February 13, 2013.
On April 17, 2014, Allen was named the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award winner as the American Hockey League's (AHL) best goaltender for the 2013–14 season.
On March 26, 2016, Allen registered a 4–0 shutout win over the Washington Capitals to help the Blues break their franchise record for longest stretch without allowing a goal. In the 2015–16 season, he had a 2.35 GAA with a .920 save percentage.
During the 2016–17 season, Allen was pulled four times in six starts during a rough stretch of play, including a poor showing on January 19, 2017, where he allowed four goals on 10 shots against the Washington Capitals. Allen did not travel with the team to Winnipeg for the January 21 game against the Winnipeg Jets, and stayed home to be with his newborn daughter. He was scheduled to rejoin the team on January 23, for the remaining two games of the road trip. His play soon rebounded however, and he was named Second Star of the Week on February 13. Allen went 3–0–0 with a 1.00 GAA, a .967 save percentage along with his 13th career shutout against the Ottawa Senators on February 7. His two other wins were against the Toronto Maple Leafs on February 9, and Montreal Canadiens on February 11.
On November 16, 2017, Allen recorded his 100th NHL win in a 4–1 defeat of the Edmonton Oilers.
Allen won the Stanley Cup as the backup to rookie Jordan Binnington in the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals. He had begun the season as the starting goaltender, however, after the team dove to last place in the league half way through the 2018–19 season, the latter was given a shot. While Binnington shone in goal, Allen finished the second half of the season with a 5–4–4 record.
Montreal Canadiens
On September 2, 2020, Allen was traded to the Montreal Canadiens with a 2022 seventh-round pick in exchange for 2020 third-round and seventh-round picks. On October 14, Allen signed a two-year, $5.75 million contract extension with the Canadiens taking him through the 2022–23 season.
Allen immediately distinguished himself as a backup goaltender to Carey Price, especially during a stretch of the 2020–21 season where Price was unable to play due to a concussion. Allen's performance in net was widely credited with allowing the Canadiens to make the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs, though Allen did not play during the playoffs following Price's return. It was widely assumed that Allen would be taken by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL expansion draft, as the rules allowed for teams to protect only one goaltender, and Price had a contractual guarantee of such protection. However, Price and Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin opted to waive Price's contractual guarantee and expose him, allowing them to protect Allen while calculating that Price's age and salary would deter the Kraken from taking him.
Following Price entering into the National Hockey League Players Association's (NHLPA) Player Assistance Program at the start of the 2021–22 season, Allen was again the Canadiens' starting goaltender. He was generally judged to be performing strongly even as the team struggled to score, notably posting a 45-save shutout in an October 28 road game against the San Jose Sharks that represented the Canadiens' first victory in San Jose since November 23, 1999. On January 12, 2022, Allen sustained a groin injury in a game against the Boston Bruins, and it was announced that he would miss eight weeks of the season. He returned to the team for a March 17 game against the Dallas Stars, making several noteworthy saves in a 4–3 overtime loss. Allen made 10 more appearances in net with the Canadiens, but was forced to exit an April 9 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs after suffering a lower body injury while attempting to stop a shot by Toronto's forward Auston Matthews. Shortly afterward he called it a "season from hell." As a result of the groin injury, he missed the remainder of the season.
During the off-season, it became clear that Price would at a minimum be unable to play in the 2022–23 season. As a result, Allen, entering the final year of his contract with the Canadiens, became their new starting goaltender. On September 28, 2022, general manager Kent Hughes confirmed that he was hoping to negotiate a contract extension with Allen. On October 1, Allen signed a two-year, $7.7 million extension with the Canadiens. The ensuing season was marked by the ascending profile of Allen's former backup goaltender, Sam Montembeault, who enjoyed success early on in a supporting role before taking over for a stretch of games in January 2023 when Allen was injured. Upon Allen's return to the lineup, he and Montembeault largely alternated starts on an equal basis. Allen finished third in Molson Cup voting as the team's most valuable player at the end of the year, behind captain Nick Suzuki and Montembeault.
The Canadiens began the 2023–24 season with three goaltenders on the roster, as in addition to Allen and Montembeault, prospect goaltender Cayden Primeau was no longer exempt from waivers and thus could not be sent down to the AHL's Laval Rocket without possibly being lost to another team. This precipitated discussions about one of the three being traded. Allen appeared in 21 games with the Canadiens that season, with a 6–12–3 record and .892 save percentage.
New Jersey Devils
On March 8, 2024, Allen was traded to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a conditional 2025 third-round pick. Allen made his Devils debut on March 14, making 35 saves in a 6–2 victory over the Dallas Stars.
On October 14, Allen recorded a 20-save shutout in a 3–0 victory against the Utah Hockey Club. It was the first loss in franchise history for Utah, and Allen became the first goaltender in NHL history to record a win against 33 different franchises. On November 23, Allen recorded his 200th NHL win in a 3–2 victory over the Washington Capitals.
Personal life
As a teenager, Allen was a promising young golfer, and won back-to-back junior golf championships on the same course he worked on up until he was drafted to the NHL.
Allen and his wife have three daughters.
Career statistics
= Regular season and playoffs
== International
=Awards and honours
References
External links
Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database